Delhi AQI Deteriorates to Very Poor Levels with Forecast of Severe Conditions Ahead

In the morning hours, Delhi's AQI remained firmly in the 'very poor' category, registering at 318.

New Delhi:

Delhi continued to struggle with deteriorating air quality on Monday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) persisting above 300 in the 'very poor' category. Experts warn that pollution levels are expected to worsen further, potentially reaching the 'severe' range in upcoming days.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the 24-hour average AQI stood at 314 by 4 pm, showing a slight increase from Sunday's reading of 308 at the same time.

Morning measurements revealed an AQI of 318, still within the 'very poor' category but higher than Sunday's morning reading of 308.

The CPCB's Sameer app had not updated station-wise pollution data by 6 pm, but earlier readings showed 27 monitoring stations recording 'very poor' air quality while 11 stations fell in the 'poor' category.

As per CPCB guidelines, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'.

The Decision Support System for Delhi's air quality management identified city transport as the largest contributor to local pollution at 17.7 percent. Other significant sources included Delhi and peripheral industries (8.5 percent), construction activities (2.4 percent), residential sources (4.3 percent), and waste burning (1.6 percent).

Neighboring NCR districts also contributed substantially to Delhi's pollution, with Jhajjar adding 11.5 percent, Sonipat 8 percent, Rohtak 5.1 percent, Jind 3.4 percent, and Gurgaon 1 percent.

The India Meteorological Department reported that the maximum temperature reached 26.3 degrees Celsius, which is 1.5 degrees below normal. The minimum temperature was recorded at 8.7 degrees Celsius, about 0.9 degrees below normal.

Relative humidity levels fluctuated between 52 percent in the evening and 84 percent during morning hours.

For Tuesday, the IMD forecasts partly cloudy skies with surface wind speeds between 15 to 25 kmph. Temperatures are expected to range between a minimum of approximately 9 degrees Celsius and a maximum of around 24 degrees Celsius.