Delhi Air Quality Remains ‘Very Poor’ with No Immediate Relief Expected

Delhi Air Quality Update

Delhi’s air quality remains ‘very poor,’ with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 346, slightly up from 331 the previous day. This marks the seventh consecutive day in this category. No improvement is expected in the coming days, according to officials.

Light winds were observed from 7 AM to 9 AM, blowing westerly. Similar conditions are forecasted over the next two days. Mahesh Palawat from Skymet Meteorology noted that a western disturbance passing through could offer slight improvement after two days. However, its effects will diminish by Sunday.

The Air Quality Early Warning System predicts that the air quality will stay ‘very poor’ until December 2, possibly extending for another six days. On Saturday, Shadipur recorded the highest pollution level, with an AQI of 416, placing it in the ‘severe’ category. Jahangirpuri and Burari Crossing followed closely, with AQIs of 398 and 397, respectively. Most monitoring stations showed high pollution levels throughout the day.

In contrast, the surrounding districts had better air quality. Noida’s AQI was at 258, Greater Noida at 292, Ghaziabad at 252, and Gurgaon at 291, all categorized as ‘poor.’ Faridabad reported an AQI in the moderate range at 175.

The Central Pollution Control Board categorizes AQI like this:

• 0-50: Good
• 51-100: Satisfactory
• 101-200: Moderate
• 201-300: Poor
• 301-400: Very Poor
• 401 and above: Severe

Meanwhile, Delhi experienced shallow fog on Saturday, affecting visibility. The Safdarjung station noted visibility dropping to 600 meters at 7 AM but improving to 1,500 meters by 1 PM. At Palam, visibility dropped to 800 meters at 7:30 AM before rising to 2,100 meters later in the day.

Temperatures were slightly below normal, with a minimum of 9.8 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 26.8 degrees Celsius.