The Capital was the most polluted city in the country on December 16 when Delhi's air quality worsened to an AQI reading of 379.
But it was not just Delhi which suffered a deterioration in air quality. A Moneycontrol analysis shows that a quarter of Indian cities breathed in poor or worse air on December 16 with an average air quality index (AQI) of above 200.
Out of these, eight cities had an AQI above 300, while 51 had an AQI of 201-300 on December 16.
Delhi and the areas surrounding the national capital had the most polluted air during the day.
Bahadurgarh had an AQI of 369, followed by Greater Noida at 358 and Ghaziabad and Noida at 324 and 323.
In Delhi, Graded Response Action Plan IV conditions have been brought back, putting a ban on all construction activity, diesel trucks entering the city, and vehicles with less than BS-IV emission standards.
Barring Chennai, all metro cities also faced AQI levels above 100. Mumbai’s AQI was 158, Kolkata's was 190, Hyderabad's and Bengaluru's were 115 and 113.
Mizoram’s capital of Aizwal was the cleanest Indian city with an AQI reading of 12.
A comparison with international cities shows that New York and London had AQIs lower than 244 of 245 Indian cities which reported data on December 16.
While Beijing’s AQI at 63 was better than 220 Indian cities.
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