More cities breath easy, 133 have an AQI below 100

Sky is getting clearer in Delhi

More than 50 percent of the Indian cities had "satisfactory" or "better air" quality, with an air quality index (AQI) reading of below 100 for the first time in 40 days, data released by the Central Pollution Control Board shows.

Of the 261 cities that reported data on December 5, 133 reported air quality index below 100. Nearly 100 cities had an AQI between 51 and 100, while another 40 had a reading of below 50.

The number of cities with "poor" or "worse" declined further to 9.6 percent from around 20 percent a week ago.

December 5 was also the first time the number of cities with "poor" or "worse" air fell to its lowest level in over a month.

Among the metro cities, Delhi’s air quality improved further to 165 from 178 on the previous day and 331 a week ago. Kolkata was the worst with an AQI of 260. Mumbai had an AQI of 154.

The other three metros, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru had an AQI below 100.

Chennai was the best with an AQI of 38, Bengaluru 60 and Hyderabad 83.

Among the international cities, New York had an AQI of 16, better than 261 Indian cities. London’s AQI of 22 was better than 260 Indian cities, while Beijing’s AQI of 51 better than 219 Indian cities.