On Friday (November 3), residents of the Delhi-NCR region woke up to find that the air quality index (AQI) had breached the 400 danger mark for the seventh consecutive day. Lower minimum temperatures, stubble burning and reduced wind speed were cited as reasons for the decline. An apocalyptic haze blanketed the skyline and a number of residents reported feeling breathless.
Delhi-NCR is now under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan to curb pollution. And Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday posted on Twitter that schools would remain closed for two days (November 3-4), given the rising air pollution in the National Capital Region right now.
What does the AQI signify?
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a measure of the overall quality of the air. It is calculated using the concentrations of five major air pollutants: ground-level ozone, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide.
The AQI is reported on a scale of 0 to 500, with higher values indicating worse air quality. There are six categories: good (0-50), satisfactory (51-100), moderate (101-200), poor (201-300), very poor (301-400), and severe (401-500). If AQI goes beyond 500, it is labelled as "severe plus."
The AQI is used to inform the public about the current air quality and to help people make decisions about their activities. For example, people with respiratory illnesses may want to avoid strenuous activity outdoors when the AQI is high.
So, which are the most polluted Indian cities?
As per data on AQI.in, pan-India AQI on Friday afternoon was 205. The PM 2.5 concentration was 117 (unhealthy), which it noted was 7.8 times above the recommended limit given by the WHO 24 hrs air quality guidelines value.
On Friday afternoon, Faridabad was the most polluted city in India with an AQI of 572. It was followed by Ghaziabad (568) and New Delhi (552). Noida (523) and Gurgaon (502) rounded up the top five.
Rohtak came in sixth with an AQI of 443, followed by Hisar (427), Sirsa (381), Bhiwadi (358) and Sonipat (357). What is important to note is that all 10 cities are from the north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and New Delhi.
Are other major cities less polluted?
Kolkata had an AQI of 196. Mumbai was at 181, Bangalore (38), Chennai (33), Ahmedabad (144), Hyderabad (64) and Lucknow (179).
Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Gulbarga in Karnataka were India’s least polluted city with an AQI of 19. They were followed by Kulgam, Sopur and Handwara, all with an AQI of 21.
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