Marginal improvement in Delhi air as AQI slips out of ‘very poor’ zone

Delhi saw a marginal respite in air quality on Monday as the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) improved to 244, placing it in the ‘poor’ category after remaining in the ‘very poor’ range a day earlier.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board’s Sameer app showed that four monitoring stations recorded ‘very poor’ air quality. Chandni Chowk logged the worst AQI at 321, while 25 stations remained in the ‘poor’ category and nine reported ‘moderate’ air quality.

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

The Decision Support System indicated that Delhi’s pollution load on Monday was led by transport at 13.7 per cent, followed by peripheral industries at 11.4 per cent, residential sources at 3.3 per cent, construction at 1.2 per cent and waste burning at one per cent. Among NCR districts, Jhajjar contributed the highest share at 19.6 per cent, followed by Sonipat at 8.6 per cent, Rohtak and Meerut at 4.4 per cent each, Panipat at 1.3 per cent and Gurugram at 1.2 per cent.

The AQI stood at 256 during the morning hours, with air quality recorded as ‘poor’ at 24 stations and ‘very poor’ at six stations. Chandni Chowk again recorded the highest AQI at 334 among all monitoring stations.

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System, air quality is expected to remain in the ‘moderate’ category on January 6, deteriorate to ‘poor’ on January 7 and 8, and stay in the ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ range over the subsequent six days. Delhi’s AQI had stood at 307, in the ‘very poor’ category, at 4 pm on Sunday.

On the weather front, the maximum temperature in the national capital on Monday settled at 18.5 degrees Celsius, which was 0.8 notch below normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 6.6 degrees Celsius, 0.3 notch below the seasonal average. Relative humidity stood at 92 per cent at 8.30 am and rose to 99 per cent by 5.30 pm, the India Meteorological Department said.

Station-wise data showed that Safdarjung recorded a maximum temperature of 18 degrees Celsius, Palam 15.3 degrees, Lodhi Road 17.8 degrees, Ridge 17.7 degrees and Ayanagar 17 degrees Celsius. Minimum temperatures stood at 6.6 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, seven degrees Celsius at Palam, 7.2 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road, 8.4 degrees Celsius at Ridge and 5.4 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar.

The minimum temperature on Tuesday is expected to hover around seven degrees Celsius, while the maximum may settle near 19 degrees Celsius, with moderate fog likely during the morning hours. “There was no significant fog recorded on Monday; however, dense fog may occur at isolated places and moderate fog at several places over the next two days. Minimum temperatures are likely to fall after the western disturbance moves away and may range between six and eight degrees Celsius over the next five days,” an IMD official said.