Eight Delhi monitoring stations record severe air quality as AQI hits 332

Delhi’s air quality deteriorated further on Tuesday morning, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) rising to 332 in the ‘very poor’ category as thick smog covered the national capital. Jahangirpuri recorded the highest reading at 452, placing it in the ‘severe’ category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The latest reading comes a day after Delhi recorded its first ‘very poor’ air quality day of the season, with the AQI settling at 324 on Monday.

CPCB data showed that eight of Delhi’s 57 monitoring stations recorded ‘severe’ air quality at 9 am on Tuesday. Another 32 stations were in the ‘very poor’ category, while 15 recorded ‘poor’ air quality. Two stations reported ‘moderate’ air quality.

Jahangirpuri recorded the city’s worst reading at 452, putting it in the ‘severe’ category.

According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is classified as ‘good’, 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 as ‘severe’.

Alongside the deteriorating air quality, Delhi recorded minimum temperatures above the seasonal average at several weather stations.

At Safdarjung, the capital’s primary weather station, the minimum temperature settled at 16.4 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees above the season’s average.

Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 16.2 degrees Celsius, with no departure from the seasonal average. Lodhi Road also recorded 16.2 degrees Celsius, 3.2 degrees above normal, while the Ridge station registered 17.7 degrees Celsius, 0.6 degrees above normal.

At Ayanagar, the minimum temperature was 17.2 degrees Celsius, one degree above the seasonal average.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a mainly clear sky for Tuesday, with the maximum temperature expected to settle around 29 degrees Celsius.