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Air quality

Delhi's Air Quality Remains Stuck in "Very Poor" Category for Third Consecutive Day

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Pollution levels in Delhi continued to rise on Wednesday, with the city's air quality remaining stuck in the "very poor" category for the third consecutive day. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the city's 4pm Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 353, marginally higher than 351 a day earlier. As temperatures dipped and winds slowed through the evening, the air quality worsened. The Centre's Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) warned that the city's air quality is likely to remain "very poor" from October 23 to 25.

Key Takeaways:

  • Delhi's air quality remained stuck in the "very poor" category for the third consecutive day, with several pockets slipping into "severe" territory by nightfall.
  • The city's 4pm AQI stood at 353, marginally higher than 351 a day earlier, with several monitoring stations reporting severe readings.
  • Anand Vihar was the most polluted spot with an AQI of 429, followed by R K Puram, Nehru Nagar, Patparganj, and Wazirpur.
  • Delhi's air quality is likely to remain "very poor" from October 23 to 25, according to the Centre's Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS).
  • The EWS warned that calm morning winds and dropping nighttime temperatures would trap pollutants near the surface, allowing only partial daytime dispersion when winds pick up briefly.
  • Haryana emerged as India's pollution hotspot over the last seven days, with at least six cities repeatedly featuring in the country's 10 most polluted centres during this period.
  • A day after Diwali, Jind recorded a PM2.5 concentration of 412 µg/m3, the highest in India for that day, according to the CPCB.

Statistics:

  • Delhi's 4pm AQI stood at 353 on Wednesday, marginally higher than 351 a day earlier.
  • Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 429, the highest in the city, while R K Puram and Nehru Nagar recorded 423 and 421, respectively.
  • The EWS warned that the city's air quality is likely to remain "very poor" from October 23 to 25, with a ventilation index below 6,000m²/s.
  • Haryana's six cities - Jind, Gurgaon, Dharuhera, Bahadurgarh, Rohtak, and Narnaul - were among the worst polluted cities over the last seven days.

Sources:

  • Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
  • Centre's Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS)
  • TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute)
  • Supreme Court of India

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