Delhi weather: The national capital again breathed in a 'very poor' category of air as the winter begins to set in. A layer of smog prevailed over the national capital on Sunday morning as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 315, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). The national capital recorded AQI at 301 (very poor) on Saturday too.
This morning, the AQI was 309 (very poor) at the Delhi University area, whereas the air quality at the IIT Delhi was also 'very poor' at 309. Meanwhile, AQI plunged to the 'very poor' category at 301 in the Lodhi Road area. At Mathura Road, the SAFAR noted an AQI level of 331 (very poor) because of high levels of PM 2.5. Delhi Airport Terminal fared no better with an AQI of 332 (very poor). Similarly, Noida too breathed in the 'poor category' with AQI at 345.
Air Quality Index is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms, which are easy to understand. It transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number (index value), nomenclature and colour. The Air Quality Index from 0 to 100 is considered as good, while from 100 to 200 it is moderate, from 200 to 300 it is poor, and from 300 to 400 it is said to be very poor and from 400 to 500 or above it is considered as severe.
Amid continuing poor air quality, the Sub-Committee for invoking actions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) held a meeting on November 18 to review the progress of the actions implemented under Stage II along with Stage I of the GRAP in the entire NCR. As per the dynamic model and weather/ meteorological forecast provided by IMD/ IITM, the overall air quality is likely to fluctuate largely between 'Poor' to the lower end of the 'Very Poor' categories in the next few days. The predominant surface wind is predicted to be coming from the North/ North-West direction in Delhi, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said. The Sub-Committee of the Commission is closely watching the situation and will review the air quality scenario accordingly.
