Delhi AQI remains ‘severe’ at 401 as rain fails to bring air pollution levels down

Delhi woke to ‘severe’ category air quality on Tuesday, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 401 at around 7 am, a day after the city received light rain, which failed to bring the pollution levels down significantly.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good,” 51-100 “satisfactory,” 101-200 “moderate,” 201-300 “poor,” 301-400 “very poor,” 401-450 “severe,” and above 450 “severe plus.”

The AQI in all 36 monitoring stations listed under Centre’s Sameer app, which provides hourly data on the National Air Quality Index, was under 450, while some were under 400 as well.

The highest AQI at around 7 am on Tuesday was at the Bawana monitoring station (455), while the IHBAS Dilshad Garden station recorded the best air quality at 222 – the poor category.

Delhi weather

Delhi and adjoining areas of Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram received light drizzle on Monday morning with the minimum temperature settling at 8.6 degrees Celsius, a notch below the seasonal average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The city’s weather added to the challenge, with a maximum temperature of 18.4 degrees Celsius, 2.3 degrees below the season’s average, following drizzle in parts of Delhi on Monday morning, as per the IMD.

Foggy conditions were observed early in the day, with humidity levels ranging from 79 per cent to 95 per cent.

The IMD had forecast cloudy skies and light rain on Tuesday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to settle at 19 and 9 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Apart from Delhi, day temperatures dropped sharply in several areas of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh after light rain hit parts of north India on Monday, even as intense cold wave conditions persisted in Kashmir with mercury dipping several degrees below freezing point.

In Himachal Pradesh, Shimla and nearby areas also witnessed light snowfall which led to the closure of 30 roads in the state.

The maximum temperatures in Haryana and Punjab witnessed a sharp dip as rain lashed many parts the two states.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the weather office asked tourists to follow the advisory issued by the traffic police in view of the sub freezing temperatures and icy conditions over roads of important higher reaches in the Kashmir valley.