Delhi's Air Quality Improves Marginally, Enters 'Poor' Category

Delhi's air quality improved slightly to the 'poor' category on Tuesday, with the Air Quality Index dropping to 294 at 4 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

In the morning, the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood in the 'very poor' category with a reading of 305. A thin veil of haze hung over the city.

However, 16 of the national capital's 38 monitoring stations reported 'very poor' air quality in the evening, as against 27 in the morning.

Siri Fort remained the most polluted location with an AQI of 347, followed by Wazirpur at 332. In the morning, Siri Fort saw a reading of 351 and Wazirpur 342, according to the CPCB's Sameer app.

The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi stated that the city's air quality is very likely to remain in the 'poor' category until October 31, while the outlook for the subsequent six days indicates conditions ranging between 'poor' and 'very poor'.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'.

Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, 3.9 notches above normal, and a maximum temperature of 26.4 degrees Celsius, 4.6 notches below normal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The relative humidity was recorded at 74 per cent at 5:30 pm.

The IMD has forecast shallow fog for Wednesday. The minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to settle at 18 and 30 degrees Celsius, respectively.  

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