Delhi and NCR remained engulfed in a thick haze of smog as the pollution levels in the national capital slipped to ‘very poor’ category after two days of slight improvement.
While the people in the city woke up to an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 278, the pollution levels breached into ‘very poor’ category, with AQI at 311. On Wednesday, Delhi recorded an AQI of 202, under the ‘poor’ category.
According to the Centre's forecast, the city's air quality will continue to remain in the 'very poor' bracket for the subsequent six days. The prominent pollutant in the air continues to be PM2.5, heavily contributing to the alarming AQI levels.
Meanwhile, the neighbouring cities, including Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad recorded AQI at 'poor' levels, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
It also said that wind speed is expected to gradually increase, reaching up to 15 kmph from the northwest direction in the afternoon, before decreasing to below 10 kmph during the evening and night on November 6. The forecast further indicates a mainly clear sky with mist or haze.
Also Read: Local sources cause 95% of Delhi's air pollution: CSE
The rest of national capital region (NCR) breathed ‘poor’ air, over the last 24 hours. In Haryana, the 24-hour average air quality in Faridabad hovered around 218, while Manesar showed an AQI reading of 269, both under the ‘poor’ category according to CPCB data.
Noida and Greater Noida recorded 257 and 228 on the scale, and Ghaziabad noted 266, all under ‘poor’ category. According to CPCB, an AQI score between 0-50 is considered ‘Good’ and has minimal impact, 51-100 is ‘satisfactory’ and causes minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people.
An AQI between 100-200 is ‘moderate’ and causes breathing discomfort to people with diseases in their lungs, asthma or heart diseases, 201-300 is ‘poor’ and causes breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure, 301-400 is ‘very poor’ and causes respiratory illness on prolonged exposure, and 401-500 is ‘severe’ which affects healthy people and impacts those with existing diseases.
Also Read: Water sprinklers deployed at India Gate to mitigate air pollution
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