Delhi's air quality deteriorates to ‘poor’ category ahead of Diwali

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• Oct 19, 2022 | digital desk

Air quality is expected to remain in the 'bad' category for the next few days...

Digital Desk: The air quality in the national capital on Wednesday morning was recorded in the 'poor’ category as the Air Quality Index (AQI) touched 228, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). 

Air quality is expected to remain in the 'bad' category for the next few days, according to experts.

On Wednesday morning, the concentrations of (Particulate Matters) PM 10 and PM 2.5 were 216 and 99 in Delhi. It was 91 and 99, respectively, in Punjabi Bagh. In Sonia Vihar, PM 10 stood at 180 and PM 2.5 was 199.  In the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the pollutants PM 10 and PM 2.5 were 124 and 181 respectively. RK Puram recorded PM 10 at 82 and PM 2.5 at 165.

Moreover, this kept Delhi's PM 2.5 concentration at around 3%, the same as it was on October 17, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), an organization under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The organization has been assessing how much stubble burning adds to Delhi's PM 2.5 concentration each winter and determined that it peaked at 48% on November 7 of last year.

As the air quality in Delhi and surrounding areas deteriorated, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directed agencies to closely follow the actions outlined in Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

A moderate AQI is one between 100 and 200. As per Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), if the air quality continues to deteriorate, various anti-pollution measures will start to take effect. These measures are divided into four categories such as Stage I -'poor' category if the AQI is between 201-300; Stage II - 'very Poor' if AQI ranges from 301-400; Stage III - 'Severe', if AQI is 401-450; and Stage IV - 'Severe Plus', if the AQI is above 450.