Delhi's air quality remains 'poor' for second day, five stations record 'very poor' AQI at over 300

New Delhi, Oct 15 (PTI) Delhi's air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, with the AQI in some areas slipping into the ‘very poor’ category at over 300, officials said.

A similar air quality forecast has been issued for the coming days, according to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.

On Wednesday, five out of the 38 monitoring stations in the capital recorded air quality in the ‘very poor’ category.

Among them, Anand Vihar reported the highest Air Quality Index (AQI) at 345, followed by Wazirpur (325), Dwarka Sector 8 (314), and DU North Campus and CRRI Mathura Road (both at 307), according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

Twenty stations reported AQI in the ‘poor’ category, while 13 recorded AQI in the ‘moderate’ range.

The 24-hour average AQI for Delhi was recorded at 233, placing it in the ‘poor’ category, data showed.

According to the CPCB, an AQI from 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.

Transport emissions remained the biggest contributor to air pollution on Wednesday, accounting for 16.7 per cent of total emissions, according to data from the Decision Support System (DSS).

Additionally, 136 stubble burning incidents were detected by satellites across six states on Wednesday, including 46 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Punjab, seven in Haryana, and one in Delhi, the data showed.

The maximum temperature in Delhi settled at 32.5 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, 0.7 notch below normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 18.3 degrees Celsius, 1.3 notches below the seasonal average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD has forecast mainly clear skies for Thursday, with the minimum and maximum temperatures likely to hover around 17 and 32 degrees Celsius, respectively. PTI NSM ARI