Air pollution worsens in Delhi, AQI rises from 292 to 321 in a day

Delhi’s air quality deteriorated to the “very poor” category on Sunday, with an overall Air Quality Index of 321, up from 292 the previous day, PTI reported.

The national capital also recorded its lowest October temperature in two years at 15.8 degrees Celsius which is 1.4 degrees below normal, the news agency quoted the India Meteorological Department as saying.

The Anand Vihar area registered a “severe” AQI of 421 at 12.05 pm, according to data from the Sameer application, which provides hourly updates published by the Central Pollution Control Board.

The application showed that 29 out 39 monitoring stations across the city reported “very poor” air quality, with readings above 300.

An index value between 0 and 50 indicates “good” air quality, between 51 and 100 indicates “satisfactory” air quality and between 101 and 200 indicates “moderate” air quality. As the index value increases further, air quality deteriorates. A value of 201 and 300 means “poor” air quality, while between 301 and 400 indicates “very poor” air.

Between 401 and 450 indicates “severe” air pollution, while anything above the 450 threshold is termed “severe plus”.

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