Delhi's 'improved' AQI masks air quality still in 'poor'

New Delhi, Nov 4 (PTI) Delhi witnessed a slight improvement in air quality on Tuesday, slipping into the "poor" category with an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 291, mainly due to improved wind conditions, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

On Monday, the AQI was recorded in the "very poor" category with a reading of 309.

Westerly winds with speeds of up to 15 kilometre per hour prevailed over the city in the past 24 hours, aiding the dispersal of pollutants, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its daily report.

Since Diwali, the city's AQI has been hovering in between "poor" and "very poor" categories, while slipping to "severe" on some days.

Air quality at 18 monitoring stations remained in the "very poor" category, with readings above 300. Alipur recorded the highest AQI at 377, followed by Anand Vihar at 366, as per CPCB's Sameer app.

Meanwhile, 14-year-old climate activist and founder of the Child Movement (School of Nature and Humanities), Licypriya Kangujam, posted on X tagging Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and urged her to "Declare Health Emergency in Delhi. Act now," while holding a placard reading, "We can't breathe, act now." According to CPCB's classification, an AQI between 0 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".

The PM2.5 concentration stood at 128.2 micrograms per cubic metre and PM10 at 260. PM2.5 refers to fine inhalable particles with diameters that are 2.5 micrometres or smaller, while PM10 includes slightly larger particles up to 10 micrometres in diameter, according to the CPCB.

At such levels, these pollutants can cause breathing discomfort, especially among people with lung or heart diseases, children, and the elderly.

The state-wise stubble burning events detected on Monday were 256 in Punjab, 23 in Haryana and 24 in UP, according to satellite data.

The air quality is very likely to be in the “very poor” category from Wednesday to Friday, as per Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.

The maximum temperature in the city was recorded at 32.1 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average, while the minimum settled at 16.5 degrees Celsius, about 1.2 degrees above normal, as per IMD.

The relative humidity was recorded at 57 per cent at 5.30 pm.

The weather office has forecast a partly cloudy sky for Wednesday, with maximum and minimum temperatures likely to hover around 30 and 17 degrees Celsius, respectively. PTI SHB NB