India: Delhi's AQI reaches 'very poor' category after recording 'severe' category for three days
A bulldozer is seen on a road, on a smoggy morning, in New Delhi, India.
The air quality index (AQI) of India's capital New Delhi was recorded in the 'very poor' category on Saturday (Nov 18), as the average AQI was 398.
The AQI remained in the 'severe' category for three days and showed little improvement as it reached the ‘very poor’ category on Saturday.
As per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the average AQI of the national capital recorded at 6 am on Saturday remained at 398.
According to the data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded at 6 am, the air quality was recorded at 396 in RK Puram, at 465 in the IGI Airport area, at 416 in Nehru Nagar and at 350 in New Moti Bagh, with most of them being in the ‘very poor’ category.
The 24-hour average AQI of Delhi, which is recorded at 4 pm every day, remained at 405 on Friday (Nov 17). The average AQI was 419 on Thursday, 401 on Wednesday, 397 on Tuesday, 358 on Monday and 218 on Sunday.
An AQI falling between zero and 50 is seen as good, 51 and 100 as satisfactory, 101 and 200 as moderate, 201 and 300 as poor, 301 and 400 as very poor, 401 and 450 as severe and above 450 as severe plus.
Temperature dips in India's national capital
The national capital's temperature, meanwhile, has started to fall and was recorded at 12 degrees Celsius on Friday (Nov 17).
A stern directive was issued by the National Green Tribunal to Delhi-NCR authorities to implement stringent measures to improve the air quality index.
The order of NGT followed its own observations after the remedial actions did not lead to significant improvements in the air quality in various states.
Watch:Delhi AQI: Schools likely to remain closed beyond November 18
The tribunal appealed to the concerned authorities to reassess their strategies. As per the instructions of the tribunal, a report regarding fresh action is expected to surface on November 20.
Delhi's Air Quality Early Warning System forecasted that the air quality is likely to remain 'very poor' from November 18 to November 20.
As per the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology’s Decision Support System, the stubble burning's contribution was PM2.5 levels on Friday (Nov 17), which was around 3.45 per cent less than the 5.85 per cent recorded on the previous day.
(With inputs from agencies)