Delhi air quality improves slightly; AQI ‘very poor’ at 377

The national capital’s air quality saw some improvement on Tuesday morning, with an AQI of 377 as against 498 a day ago, even as smog blanketed the city, shivering at 8.3°C during the morning hours, reducing visibility.

The air quality in the city at 9 am was in the ‘very poor’ category. Over the past two days, Delhi witnessed worse conditions, with AQI readings crossing 400 at several locations, which falls in the ‘severe’ category, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.

Even on Tuesday, out of 40 monitoring stations, 11 recorded ‘severe’ air quality. Jahangirpuri, Mundka and Wazirpur reported the highest readings at 426, as per the CPCB’s Sameer app, which provides hourly data for each monitoring station.

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’.

Several parts of the city were seen covered in smog and fog during the early morning hours, leading to reduced visibility.

Delhi’s minimum temperature of 8.3°C on Monday is 0.3 notches below normal. The maximum temperature is expected to hover between 23°C and 25°C.