Delhi-NCR sees Slight relief as air quality improves from ‘severe’ to ‘very poor’

On Wednesday, the National Capital Region experienced a slight break from severe pollution, as the air quality moved up to 'very poor' category, and the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 349, as per the report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

There was a little bit of clearing of the thick smog that had covered the whole area, but still, some of the AQI readings in the capital showed that the pollution level was close to the severe zone.

Noida second most polluted city

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At 6:58 a.m., according to the recorded data, Noida was the second most polluted city in India with an AQI of 355.

On the other hand, Greater Noida had an AQI of 344, Gurugram 316, and Ghaziabad 309, all under “very poor” category.

Temperatures above normal, cold wave expected

At the same time, the India Meteorological Department reported that Delhi's maximum temperature was 23.2 degrees Celsius, which is 2.5 degrees more than the seasonal average, and the minimum temperature was 8.8 degrees Celsius, which is 1.3 degrees above normal.

It has also been predicted that with time, the minimum temperatures across the Northwestern and Central parts of India would gradually decline by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius within the next 24 hours.

The trend for Delhi will be the same, where it is expected that the minimum temperature will drop to around 7 degrees Celsius starting Thursday.

AQI drops from ‘severe’ after smog-covered tuesday

The minor relief came a day after the city was enveloped in a thick blanket of grey haze, as the average AQI for the past 24 hours was recorded at 412, which is considered very poor, at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

This is a significant decline from the AQI of 373, that was recorded in the very poor category at the same time on the previous day.

These include Nehru Nagar at 465, Mundka at 457, Chandni Chowk at 453, Okhla at 452, and Jahangirpuri. A total of 26 stations still remained under the severe category.

The AQI data from the remaining monitoring stations across the city showed that the air quality was very poor, as per the data provided on the CPCB's SAMEER application.

On Tuesday, Delhi was the second-most polluted city in India, with an AQI of 412, next to the neighbouring Noida, which had the highest AQI of 426.