Delhi Chokes for Second Day as AQI Crosses 400, Remains in ‘Severe’ Zone

Delhi Chokes for Second Day: For the first time this season, the air quality in New Delhi and surrounding areas turned ‘severe’ on Wednesday with AQI reaching 429, a serious health hazard for residents, said officials. This is the worst air quality in the country in the last 24 hours.

Pollution levels in the city saw a sharp jump in the last 24 hours as AQI was 334 on Tuesday evening.

This comes as the 24-hour AQI recorded at 4 pm every day was 418, up from 334 the previous day which can trigger strict restrictions under the third stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP to combat hazardous conditions.

However, CAQM said that due to stronger winds, the pollutant concentration will start decreasing from Thursday, and the AQI will return to the “inferior” category.

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"After a comprehensive review, the sub-committee decided to closely monitor the situation before implementing Stage III of GRAP and will reassess the status on Thursday," the CAQM said in a post on X. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", 401 and 450 "severe" and above 450 "severe plus".

Residents in Delhi urged the administration to check on the alarming level of pollution

Several parts of the city was covered in smog on Tuesday morning with many residents complaining difficulty in breathing amid the deteriorating air quality

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The AQI was "severe" in several areas including near Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium, ITO, Jahangirpuri, Dilshad Garden, IGI airport, Burari Crossing and Dwarka Sector 8. Amid deteriorating air quality in Delhi, environmentalist Vimlendhu Jha on Wednesday said that it is a "very, very" alarming situation and that the citizens need to be extremely cautious. Due to a dip in temperature, the quality of air might reach a severe category for several weeks. Speaking to ANI, Jha said that November 13 is the 15th day when the Delhi NCR's Air Quality Index hovers around 390, which is in the very poor category. He said that vehicle pollution contributes almost 50 per cent of overall ambient air quality or air pollution.

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