Delhi air quality plummets to ‘very poor’ as smoke and fog reduce visibility, AQI slips to…, pollution levels highest in…

Delhi Air Quality: Delhi’s air quality deteriorated further on Saturday, slipping into the ‘very poor’ category as thick smoke and fog enveloped the national capital, reducing visibility across the city. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi stood at 303 at 4 pm, compared to Friday’s 218, indicating a sharp decline in the city’s air quality.

Which area saw highest pollution levels?

As per data in the CPCB’s Sameer app, Wazirpur reported the highest pollution level in the city with an AQI of 383, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category. Out of 38 monitoring stations in the national capital, 26 recorded air quality in the ‘very poor’ category (above 300), while the remaining stations fell in the ‘poor’ category (below 300).

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

Visibility drops amid smoke and fog

Meanwhile, smoke and fog caused the visibility to drop with Delhi’s primary weather station at Safdarjung reporting a visibility of 900 metres with calm winds, while Palam recorded a visibility of 1,300 metres with south-southwesterly winds at 4 kmph.

According to the India(BHARAT) Meteorological Department (IMD), shallow fog mixed with smoke prevailed over both stations. An IMD weather expert noted that the reduced visibility was due to the combined effect of smoke and fog.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 30.5 degrees Celsius, three notches below the seasonal average, while the minimum settled at 19.4 degrees Celsius, 3.3 notches above normal, as per the IMD. The humidity level stood at 73 per cent at 5.30 pm, the apex weather agency said.

Additionally, the IMD has forecast shallow fog for Sunday morning, with the maximum and minimum temperatures likely to hover around 31 and 18 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Last month, air quality levels plummeted to hazardous levels in the national capital post Diwali, prompting the city’s BJP government to launch cloud seeding operations to control the rising pollution. However, the rials did not trigger artificial rain in Delhi as many had hoped, but the government has claimed that PM10 levels dropped significantly at locations where the operations were carried out.

(With inputs from agencies)