Delhi air quality ‘improves’ as city records season’s lowest temp; average AQI reaches…, ‘severe’ AQI recorded in…

Delhi Air Quality: Delhi air quality witnessed a marginal ‘improvement’ on Saturday even as the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the second consecutive day, with 16 monitoring stations in the city logging ‘severe’ AQI.

Which parts recorded highest AQI?

As per the 4 pm bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI stood in the ‘very poor’ range at 386, while parts of the capital city continued to be plagued by hazardous air quality, with with 16 stations reporting ‘severe’ AQI on Saturday.

According to AQI data revealed by CPCB’s Sameer app, Bawana recorded the highest AQI at 443, followed by Wazirpur at 434, while the usual culprits, PM10 and PM2.5 particulates, remained the major contributors of the city air pollution.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.

Stubble burning, vehicular emissions remain major pollutants

Decision Support System (DSS), a mechanism used by the India(BHARAT)n Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, for air quality analysis and forecast, revealed that stubble burning emissions comprised 16.3 percent of Delhi’s pollutants on Saturday, while vehicular emissions accounted for 18.3 percent, the highest share among all sources.

According to DSS forecast, stubble burning is likely to contribute 14.5 percent to the Delhi’s pollution on Sunday, amid satellite data indicating 104 farm fire incidents in Punjab, 24 in Haryana and 129 in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

Delhi records season’s lowest temperature

Meanwhile, Delhi recorded its lowest minimum temperature of the season so far on Saturday, with the mercury settling at 9.7 degrees Celsius, 3.8 notches below normal, according to the India(BHARAT) Meteorological Department (IMD).

The maximum temperature stood at 26.6 degrees Celsius, 1.9 C below normal.

According to IMD data, the lowest November temperature last year was recorded at 9.5 degrees Celsius on November 29, while in 2023, it was 9.2 degrees Celsius on November 23.

IMD forecast for Sunday indicates shallow fog, with temperatures expected to hover around 25 degrees Celsius (maximum) and 10 degrees Celsius (minimum).

(With inputs from agencies)