Delhi’s air quality remains ‘poor’ despite slight improvement

The national capital’s air quality showed a marginal improvement on Wednesday but continued to remain in the ‘poor’ category, with the overall AQI (Air Quality Index) standing at 279, according to data from the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board).

The 24-hour average AQI, measured at 4.00 pm, dropped slightly from 294 on Tuesday and 301 on Monday, when it had entered the ‘very poor’ range.

Despite the modest decline, several parts of the city continued to record high pollution levels. Wazirpur (347), Vivek Vihar (339), Rohini (337) and Anand Vihar (331) were among 19 of the 38 monitoring stations that registered AQI readings above 300, falling in the ‘very poor’ category, data from the CPCB’s Sameer app showed.

According to CPCB classification, an AQI between 0–50 is considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’, and 401–500 ‘severe’.

Forecast warns of deterioration by 1 November

The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi forecast that the city’s air quality will likely remain ‘poor’ till 31 October and may deteriorate to ‘very poor’ levels by 1 November.

“The outlook for the subsequent six days indicates that air quality will fluctuate between the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories,” the agency said.

The expected decline in air quality is being attributed to calm wind conditions, rising humidity, and stubble-burning activity in neighbouring states.

Officials said the GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) measures, including curbs on construction dust and stricter vehicular emission checks, will continue through the week.

Meanwhile, Delhi witnessed a noticeable dip in temperatures. The maximum temperature was recorded at 29°C, about 4.6°C below the seasonal average, while the minimum settled at 18.2°C, the IMD (India Meteorological Department) said.

The IMD has forecast shallow fog for Thursday morning, with maximum and minimum temperatures expected to hover around 30°C and 18°C, respectively.

The relative humidity stood at 79 per cent at 5.30 pm, the IMD added.

Air quality and weather conditions are expected to worsen slightly as the city heads into November — typically the start of Delhi’s most polluted period due to post-harvest burning, cooler temperatures, and stagnant air flow.

With PTI inputs