The national capital continued to record poor air quality on Monday with an Air Quality Index at 221 as of 9 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. The air quality was also in "poor" categoty in NCR including Ghaziabad (265), Noida (243), and Greater Noida (228) while Gurugram (169) and Faridabad (177) had "moderate" air quality. It should be noted that the AQI between zero and 50 is called as good category, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe.
The national capital recorded a minimum temperature of 18.6 degrees Celsius on Monday, one notch below the season's average, the weather department said. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 35 degrees Celsius.
Delhi's daily average Air Quality Index (AQI) clocked 224 on Sunday as per the 4 PM AQI bulletin provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP took stock of the current air quality scenario as well as the forecast for meteorological conditions and air quality index made available by IMD/ IITM.
The Sub-Committee noted that owing to episodic events, a rise has been witnessed in the AQI of Delhi since last night till about noon today. However, the pollutant concentrations and thereby the AQI are now exhibiting a declining trend, with AQI improving to 222 at 5 PM, and it is further expected to improve with time. The forecasts from IMD/ IITM also indicate the overall AQI of Delhi moving back to the 'Moderate' category.
After comprehensively reviewing the overall air quality scenario and related aspects, it was decided by the Sub-Committee unanimously to closely watch the situation for a day or more, before invoking Stage I of GRAP.
Earlier on Thursday, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai wrote a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, urging him to conduct an 'urgent' meeting to discuss the use of artificial rain during peak pollution periods in the national capital city.
As Diwali is approaching, Rai emphasised that the quality of air is likely to turn hazardous in Delhi at the beginning of November and according to him, there is "already" a delay of approximately one month in the efforts for cloud seeding in Delhi.
