Delhi’s air quality falls to ‘poor’ category after nearly 3 months

New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) Signalling a return of the 'pollution season' as winter approaches, the air quality in Delhi has dipped into the ‘poor’ category after nearly three months, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 211.

The last time Delhi recorded an AQI in the Poor category was on July 11, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Board (DPCC) data.

Since then, the city experienced some improvement due to the monsoon rain, but with changing weather patterns and the onset of cooler temperatures, pollution levels are beginning to rise again.

As per the CPCB, 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”.

Delhi struggles with high levels of air pollution between October and February, with AQI often reaching hazardous "severe" levels during this period.  According to data from the Decision Support System (DSS), the transport sector remained the biggest contributor to Delhi’s pollution, accounting for 19.8 per cent of the total emissions.

Additionally, the air quality is very likely to be in the Poor category till Friday, according to the air quality early warning system for Delhi.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature settled at 32.6 degrees Celsius, 0.6 notches below normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 19 degrees Celsius, 0.6 notches below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD has forecast mainly clear skies for Wednesday, with the minimum and maximum temperatures likely to hover around 19 and 33 degrees Celsius, respectively. PTI NSM NSM RT RT