Delhi’s Air Quality Improves: AQI Drops to ‘Poor’ for Second Consecutive Day

Delhi’s Air Quality Improves: Delhi's air quality made some improvements as the city's air quality index (AAQI) attuned itself to the 'poor' category for the first two days in December and finally recorded 280 on Monday.

The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) at 4 pm was slightly lower than Sunday's 285. Since October 30, air had hovered in the categories of "very poor" and "severe".

However, on Sunday, the AQI registered below the 300 mark, on the first occasion in the last 32 days, as a result of the interaction of north-western winds and sunlight.

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According to the Sameer app, out of 38 monitoring stations in Delhi, 12 stations recorded 'very poor' air quality on Monday, 25 reported 'poor', and one measured 'satisfactory' levels.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between 0 and 50 is defined as good; between 51 and 100 as satisfactory; between 101 and 200 as moderate; between 201 and 300 as poor; between 301 and 400 as very poor; and above 400 is classified as severe.

The main pollutant for this day was PM2.5, which recorded 106 µg/m³ around 3 pm.

These extremely fine particles pose horrible threats to health because they can settle down deep inside lungs and then enter blood circulation.

Vehicular emissions as reported by the Centre's Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management are usually updated by 12 noon every day.

But, no data for Saturday, Sunday and Monday found themselves stuck with the website till 4 pm most recently, reflecting Friday's contribution which accounted for 21.4 percent of Delhi's pollution.

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, predominant surface winds came from the northwest direction and recorded less than 8 km/h during the morning hours. Morning will bring smog and shallow fog, while the speed of the wind is likely to decrease later in the evening and night.

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Smog and mist and fog are likely in the evening and night, with mainly clear skies predicted for Tuesday.

The air quality is expected to remain in the "poor" category from Tuesday to Thursday.

Meanwhile, it was another sunny day for Delhiites, with the daytime temperature recorded at 27.4 degrees Celsius, 2.1 notches above normal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The city reported a minimum temperature (nighttime temperature) of 10.4 degrees Celsius, 0.9 notches above the season's average, with humidity levels fluctuating between 89 per cent and 61 per cent during the day.

The weather department has forecast a shallow fog for Tuesday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to hover around 27 degrees Celsius and 11 degrees Celsius respectively.

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