New Delhi: According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality in the national capital on Sunday fell to the ‘severe’ category with the overall air quality index (AQI) standing at 391 at 7 am.
Several areas of the city recorded alarming pollution levels with AQI readings crossing the 400 mark. According to CPCB data, Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 412, Alipur reported 415 and Bhawana recorded the highest level of 436. Chandni Chowk recorded an AQI of 409, while RK Puram and Patparganj recorded 422 and 425 respectively. Sonia Vihar also recorded a “severe” AQI of 415, indicating hazardous air conditions in the city.
Earlier on Saturday, air quality in the national capital remained in the ‘very poor’ category in the morning as Delhi’s overall AQI stood at 355 as of 8 am.
On Friday, air quality in the national capital fell to the “very poor” category, while Delhi’s overall air quality index stood at 312, CPCB said. On Thursday, Delhi’s overall AQI recorded at 8 am was 271, which is categorized as poor, according to CPCB data.
Several monitoring stations across the city have consistently recorded “very poor” air quality levels over the past week. Anand Vihar reported AQI 332, Alipur 316, Ashok Vihar 332, Bawana 366, Burari Crossing 345, Chandni Chowk 354, Dwarka Sector-8 310, ITO 337, Jahangirpuri 342, Munda 335, Narela 335, Okhla Phase-II 307, Patparganj 314, Punjabi Bagh 343, RK Puram 321, Rohini 336 and Sonia Vihar 326 are all categorized as ‘very poor’ as of 8 am, according to CPCB’s air quality index.
Post Diwali, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) has fluctuated between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ in several areas, even as Phase 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) remains in place.
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has already announced doubling of parking charges in the national capital after GRAP Stage II was activated due to deteriorating air quality.
According to the CPCB, an AQI of 0 to 50 is considered “good”, 51–100 “satisfactory”, 101–200 “moderate”, 201–300 “poor”, 301–400 “very poor” and 401–500 “severe”.
