New Delhi, November 29: The toxic air crisis in Delhi-NCR continues on Saturday. The average Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded at 305, which is considered in the very poor category. There is no possibility of improvement in it for the next few days. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI in many areas of Delhi remained at very dangerous levels at 4 pm.
As per the CPCB , the AQI in Anand Vihar area was recorded at 326, in Ashok Vihar at 319, in Chandni Chowk at 312, in Dwarka Sector-6 at 332. The average AQI in the Indira Gandhi International Airport area was 257. The maximum AQI here was recorded at 326 for PM-2.5 and 288 for PM-10. The AQI was recorded at 321 at ITO, 331 at RK Puram, and 319 at Sonia Vihar. Pollution levels are also concerning in NCR cities. Bahadurgarh recorded an AQI of 322, Charkhi Dadri 304, Noida 310, Sonipat 329, and several areas around Delhi experienced very poor conditions. Greater Noida recorded an AQI of 288, Ghaziabad 299, Gurugram 262, and Faridabad 212, all of which fall in the poor category.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), winds in Delhi blew from the west-southwest at a speed of 9.3 km per hour, which was insufficient to dispersion of pollutants. Due to the drop in temperature and slow wind speed, no significant improvement in pollution is expected in the coming days. On November 30, there will be partly cloudy skies and light fog in the morning. The maximum temperature will be 23–25 degrees Celsius and the minimum will be 8–10 degrees Celsius. The wind will be calm in the morning, but may later reach 10 kmph.
According to CPCB norms, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. It is noteworthy that vehicles contribute 20.45 percent to the total air pollution in Delhi. Stubble burning contributes 1.97 percent, construction and demolition activities 3.10 percent, and residential areas 5.30 percent.