Delhi’s 'poor' air, thick smog make a comeback

New Delhi, Nov 17: Delhi's air quality, which improved on Wednesday and improved to 'moderate' has deteriorated again as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 249 in the 'poor' category. The national capital was also engulfed with a thick layer of smog.

The air quality dipped when the national capital was witnessing a steady improvement for the last few days. The air quality was in the moderate category on Wednesday with AQI 176.

Along with Delhi, Noida's AQI stood at 300 in the 'poor' category, and Gurugram recorded 235 in the 'poor' category.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.

In the last one week, the national capital was witnessing a slight improvement in air quality with air pollution levels in Delhi coming down to 'poor' category from 'very poor' on Tuesday.

Report card of Delhi's AQI:

Last week, the air quality in Delhi was recorded at 'very poor' and continued to remain so till 14 November, 2022 with the AQI swaying between 337 and 309. There was much needed relief on Wednesday when the air improved to 'moderate' and the capital air became easier to breathe. Here is a look at the Air Quality Index recorded in the last seven days in the capital.

What lies ahead?

Toxic air is apparently here to stay for a few more days. According to SAFAR, Delhi's air quality may further deteriorate because of farm fires in Punjab.

Meanwhile the monitoring body also predicts that the wind may affect the national capital's air for the next three days. It has said that air pollution may go up due to north-western air for the next three days till November 19 and the AQI may rise further which means 'poor' and 'very poor' days are not over yet.