Delhi's air quality remains 'poor', some parts even record 'very poor'

New Delhi, Oct 24: The pollution level in Delhi has overall remained in the "poor" category as the Air Quality Index was at 276 on Sunday evening, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

The AQI index in the Delhi University area was in the 'very poor' category at 319 on the eve of Diwali. Although the city registered a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 259, the lowest for the day before the festival in seven years, the pollution levels increased as people burst firecrackers in several parts of the capital.

Delhi's AQI stood at 298 at 6 am on Monday. Nineteen of the 35 monitoring stations in the city recorded air quality in the "very poor" category, while one (Anand Vihar) reported "severe" pollution levels. The neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad (300), Noida (299), Greater Noida (282), Gurugram (249) and Faridabad (248) reported poor air quality, according to ANI.

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.

Meanwhile, Noida's overall air quality also stood in the 'very poor' category with the AQI at 311. The air quality in Gurugram stood in the 'moderate' category with an AQI of 139.