Delhi Pollution: Delhi's air turns toxic, AQI crosses 400

Delhi's air turned toxic on Tuesday due to the ever-changing weather conditions. After about 10 months, the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached above 400 in the severe category. Earlier on January 2, it was 404. The air in most areas of Delhi also remained suffocating. In NCR cities, the air conditions of Faridabad and Greater Noida were recorded in severe while other places in very poor category. SAFAR India forecasts that the air quality will be severe or very poor for the next three days.

A layer of haze and smoke engulfed Delhi on Tuesday and visibility levels remained low as the air quality slipped into the "severe" category amid relatively slow winds and increased incidence of stubble burning in Punjab. Satellite images taken by the US space agency "NASA" show several red marks, indicating cases of stubble burning in various parts of Punjab and Haryana. A layer of haze is visible over vast areas of the Indus-Gangetic plains from East Pakistan to East Uttar Pradesh.

According to the Air Quality Bulletin issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air index of Delhi stood at 424 on Tuesday. The air index on Monday was 392. That is, within 24 hours, it has increased by 32 points. According to the real time monitoring of CPCB, Delhi's AQI had crossed 400 late on Monday night itself. It was at 429 on Tuesday at 10 am.

In many areas, concentrations of PM 2.5, the lung-damaging microscopic particles, exceeded 450 micrograms per cubic metre, nearly eight times the safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre. Among NCR cities, Faridabad air index was recorded at 403, Ghaziabad 381, Greater Noida 402, Gurugram 390 and Noida 398. Compared to Monday, the air index of all these NCR cities also saw an increase.

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