Air Quality in New Delhi Slips Back to Poor Category With Change in Wind Direction

Air quality in India’s capital, New Delhi has turned back to poor category due to change in direction of wind, which is now flowing from stubble burning regions in Punjab and Haryana, experts said on Monday (8).

The quality of the air on Sunday (7) had improved to moderate level with an index of 181, however, the air quality slid to the poor category with Air Quality Index (AQI) at 262, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

A Central Pollution Control Control Board (CPCB) official said that the quality of air in New Delhi was good as there were less vehicle traffic and good wind speed on Sunday. However, on Monday, the air quality recorded a steep decline as vehicle traffic moved up raising the level of air pollution.

The presence of particles with diameter less than 10 mm (PM10 level) was 242 in New Delhi and presence of particles with diameter less than 2.5 mm (PM2.5 level) was 109, the data from SAFAR highlighted.

According to SAFAR forecast, further deterioration in the air quality is expected on Tuesday (9) with the PM10 is likely to reach 278 and PM2.5 to touch ‘very poor’ stage at 125 in the next two days.

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