Delhi air pollution: Toxic haze envelopes city, AQI ‘very poor’

Delhi: Delhi was covered by a dense layer of smog on Monday morning, with the air quality staying at the higher end of the ‘very poor’ category.

The national capital’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 373 at 9 am, as per data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Eleven out of the 39 monitoring stations in the city showed ‘severe’ pollution levels, with AQI readings over 400, the data indicated.

The areas with ‘severe’ air quality include Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, New Moti Bagh, NSIT Dwarka, Patparganj, Punjabi Bagh, Rohini, Wazirpur, and Vivek Vihar.

Despite a brief relief from winds, pollution levels in the national capital rose again after Diwali.

An AQI between zero and 50 is marked as ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, 401 to 450 ‘severe’, and above 450 ‘severe plus’.

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Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 16.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The relative humidity level was recorded at 83 per cent at 8:30 am.

The IMD stated that the maximum temperature in the city is likely to reach around 33.2 degrees Celsius during the day.

(With inputs from PTI)