Delhi air quality improves to poor as AQI falls to 234

Delhi recorded a marginal improvement in air quality for the second consecutive day, with the Air Quality Index falling to 234 and remaining in the poor category on Thursday. Transport emissions and pollution from neighbouring cities continued to be major contributors to the capital’s pollution load, according to official data.

Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 234 at 4 pm, compared with 271 recorded at the same time a day earlier, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board, as reported by PTI. This marked a sharp improvement from the severe AQI of 412 recorded at 4 pm on Tuesday.

Of the 40 functional air quality monitoring stations in the city, 10 recorded moderate AQI levels below 200, including Lodhi Road, IIT Delhi, Indira Gandhi International Airport and Aya Nagar, while 27 stations remained in the poor category. Two stations, Jahangirpuri and Bawana, recorded very poor air quality with AQI readings above 300.

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

Data from the Decision Support System for Air Quality Management showed that vehicular emissions were the largest contributor to Delhi’s pollution load on Wednesday at 18.5 per cent, followed by industries in Delhi and adjoining areas at 9.5 per cent, construction activities at 2.5 per cent and waste burning at 1.6 per cent.

Among National Capital Region districts, Jhajjar in Haryana contributed the highest share to Delhi’s pollution at 17.6 per cent, followed by Rohtak at 5.9 per cent and Sonipat at 3.1 per cent, the data showed.

The predominant surface wind was from the northwest, with wind speeds reaching up to 10 kmph during afternoon hours on Thursday, according to the Air Quality Early Warning System. However, air quality is likely to deteriorate to the very poor category in the coming days, according to the forecast.

On the weather front, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 22.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, which was 1.9 degrees above normal, while the minimum temperature settled at 6.5 degrees Celsius, slightly below normal, the India Meteorological Department said. Relative humidity stood at 63 per cent at 8.30 am and 84 per cent at 5.30 pm. The IMD forecast a minimum temperature of 8 degrees Celsius for Christmas Day on Friday, with moderate fog expected.