Delhi’s Air quality stands in ‘poor’ category; AQI docks at 204
- Major pollutants such as PM2.5 and PM10 stood at 92 (‘poor’ category) and 185 (‘moderate’ category) respectively at 7:33 am in the morning.
- Old Delhi’s Chandani Chowk continued to grapple with high levels of pollution with the overall air quality falling in the ‘very poor’ category and AQI docking at the 314 mark.
- SAFAR advised the sensitive people to avoid prolonged or heavy exertion and asked them to take more breaks.
New Delhi: Despite intermittent showers in the night, the air pollution levels in the national capital on Friday morning remained in the ‘poor’ category with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) docking at 204, according to the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). Major pollutants such as PM2.5 and PM10 stood at 92 (‘poor’ category) and 185 (‘moderate’ category) respectively at 7:33 am, said SAFAR.
High concentration of PM2.5
PM2.5 remained the major polluting particle beating the concentrations of PM10 in the air at several places across the capital. The air quality at Mathura Road and Dhirpur stood in the ‘poor’ category with the AQI docking at 252 and 293 respectively, with dominant concentrations of PM2.5.
Several places record ‘moderate’ air quality
Several places such as the area near the Indira Gandhi International Airport, PUSA, area near the University of Delhi and Lodhi Road recorded a ‘moderate’ quality of air with the AQI standing at 173, 197, 178, and 200 respectively. Old Delhi’s Chandani Chowk continued to grapple with high levels of pollution with the overall air quality falling in the ‘very poor’ category and AQI docking at 314.
SAFAR’s health advisory
Owing to the ‘poor’ quality of air in the national capital, SAFAR advised the sensitive people to avoid prolonged or heavy exertion and asked them to take more breaks. It advised the heart patients to visit a doctor if they witness any palpitations, unusual fatigue, or shortness of breath.
Improvement in air quality
Though the air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category, the pollution levels have seen a decline. Yesterday, the overall AQI stood at 297. It appears that the intermittent showers in the night have brought down the air pollution levels leading to improvement in the quality of air.
Air quality in other major cities
The air quality in the adjoining Uttar Pradesh’s Noida stood in the ‘poor’ category with the AQI docking at 229. Pune continued to struggle with the ‘very poor’ quality of air with the overall AQI standing at 167. In Pune, PM2.5 and PM10 docked at 128 (‘very poor’ category) and 173 (‘moderate’ category) respectively. Other major cities such as Mumbai and Ahmedabad the overall AQI stood at 172 (‘moderate’ category) and 248 (‘poor’ category) respectively.
