As winter approaches, Delhi's air is becoming more poisonous and pollution levels continue to rise. On Thursday morning, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi increased to 340. It is the third consecutive day that AQI was recorded above 300 (very poor) in the national capital. Anand Vihar and Jahangirpuri remained the most polluted with AQI at 400 while Okhla witnessed AQI 328. In the entire national capital, the AQI remained very poor on Thursday morning.
The worst effect of pollution in Delhi NCR happened to be on people's health. Usually, people reach India Gate in the early morning for walks, exercise, and cycling, but due to rising pollution it mostly remains vacant. The number of people going out for the exercise has significantly reduced.
Area-wise AQI in Delhi
List of areas in Delhi with their respective air pollution levels:
- Vivek Vihar 368
- Sri Aurobindo Marg 336
- Wazipur 378
- Sonia Vihar 370
- Siri Fort 340
- Rohini 377
- RK Puram 367
- Pratapgarh 351
- Anand Vihar 400
- Ashok Vihar 348
- Bawana 385
- Buradri 356
- Dwarka 353
- IGI 331
- ITO 330
- Jahangirpuri 400
- Mandir Marg 347
- Mundka 372
- Najafgarh 350
- Okhla 328
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.
GRAP II invoked
Earlier on Monday, restrictions under the second stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) were imposed. Due to the unfavourable meteorological and climatic conditions, the AQI is likely to remain very poor in the coming days. Meanwhile, the effect of air pollution was seen on River Yamuna as white toxic foam was seen floating on the river in the Kalindi Kunj area on Thursday morning.
