One in seven Indian cities faces poor air quality levels: CPCB data

Delhi's air quality worsens

Nearly 15 percent of Indian cities faced poor air quality conditions on October 23, according to air quality index (AQI) data released by the Central Pollution Control Board.

Delhi continued to top the league of polluted cities, with the air quality index reading dipping further to 364 from 327 in the previous month.

Dausa in Rajasthan, and Ghaziabad and Noida in Uttar Pradesh, were the other worst performers, with AQI readings above 300.

The CPCB qualifies AQI levels of over 200 as 'poor' and above 300 as 'very poor'.

The number of cities with poor air quality was also the highest on October 23 with citizens in 34 cities breathing polluted air.

Only 42 cities had good air quality conditions with an AQI readings below 50. Among the metros, other than Delhi, had air quality readings of below 100. While Ahmedabad made an exception with an AQI of 120, Bengaluru offered the best air quality at an AQI reading of 59.

Chennai and Hyderabad had AQI readings of 69, while Mumbai had an AQI level 71.

Gandhinagar, which hosts the GIFT city, had an AQI level on 85 on October 23.

As per IQAir, New York had an AQI level of 36, city of London was 55, while Beijing, China was 121.