Delhi’s air quality improved this morning to hover around 300 AQI with a clear sky as against 383 at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) moved from 300 earlier to 301 at 7 a.m. and remained at 302 for the next three hours, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. At 7 pm, the AQI was 301, showing a stability in the air quality even if there was no improvement.
However, at 7 pm, as many as 20 of the national capital’s 38 monitoring spots from where data were available had an AQI in the range of 302-370, which falls under ‘very poor’ category. The highest AQI was 370 at Shadipur Depot, and the lowest was 239 at Delhi Technical University.
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’, 401 and 450 ‘severe’ and above 450 ‘severe+’.
On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to relax the restrictions under GRAP Stage-IV, emphasising that the curbs could only be eased if there was a consistent decrease in AQI levels. It will hear again on Thursday if curbs should be relaxed.
Meanwhile, the city’s maximum temperature was 1 Degree Celsius above normal at 27.3 Degrees Celsius on Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department said. It has forecast clear sky during Thursday, and the predominant surface wind is likely to be from east direction with speed less than 04 kmph during morning hours. Smog/moderate fog is also likely to be seen in the morning.