Delhi AQI Today: Air quality worsens further in National capital; AQI breaches 400

Despite a temporary relief from pollution levels due to winds, the city has been experiencing a spike in air pollution following Diwali.

National capital Delhi woke up to worsening air quality on Monday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) surpassing 400 in several areas, marking a shift into the "severe" category. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) indicated that multiple monitoring stations recorded alarming AQI levels early in the morning, with Anand Vihar at 433, Wazirpur at 414, Jahangirpuri at 413, Rohini at 409, and Punjabi Bagh at 404.

A thin layer of smog was observed near the Akshardham temple area, highlighting the deteriorating conditions across the city. The AQI scale categorises levels as follows: 0-50 (good), 51-100 (satisfactory), 101-200 (moderate), 201-300 (poor), 301-400 (very poor), 401-450 (severe), and above 450 (severe plus).

In addition to the areas already mentioned, other locations in the national capital also fell into the "very poor" category, primarily due to unfavourable meteorological conditions, including calm winds and low temperatures that hinder the dispersion of pollutants. On Sunday, the National Capital's overall AQI was already concerning, recorded at 382, making it the worst in the country for that day.

Fifteen monitoring stations throughout the city reported AQI levels exceeding 400, including Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, NSIT Dwarka, Najafgarh, Nehru Nagar, Okhla Phase 2, Patparganj, Punjabi Bagh, Rohini, Wazirpur, and Vivek Vihar.

Despite a temporary relief from pollution levels due to winds, the city experienced a spike in air pollution following Diwali, with a noticeable increase reported on Sunday. Elsewhere in India, other regions also recorded AQI levels in the "very poor" category, albeit still lower than those in Delhi. For example, Bahadurpura in Telangana had an AQI of 335, Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh recorded 302, Noida had 313, and Sonipat in Haryana reached 321.