Delhi enters ‘red zone’ as pollution soars above 400, AQI ‘severe’
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New Delhi: Delhiites are grappling with dangerously high air pollution, as several parts of the city recorded levels crossing the 400 mark on Saturday, making the national capital one of the most polluted cities in the country.
The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI), updated daily at 4 pm, stood at 361 on Saturday, placing Delhi in the ‘red zone’ and ranking it the second most polluted city nationwide, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Several localities recorded AQI levels in the ‘severe’ category: Alipur at 404, ITO at 402, Nehru Nagar at 406, Vivek Vihar at 411, Wazirpur at 420, and Burari at 418, as per CPCB’s Sameer app data from 38 monitoring stations across the capital.
In the National Capital Region, Noida recorded an AQI of 354, Greater Noida 336, and Ghaziabad 339, all classified as ‘very poor’, according to CPCB data. On Friday, Delhi had recorded an AQI of 322, ranking first among the country’s most polluted cities. PM2.5 and PM10 remained the dominant pollutants on Saturday.
The Decision Support System (DSS) for air quality forecasting indicated that stubble burning contributed roughly 30 per cent to Delhi’s pollution, while the transport sector accounted for 15.2 per cent on Sunday. Satellite data revealed 100 stubble-burning incidents in Punjab, 18 in Haryana, and 164 in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.
The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi predicts that air quality will remain in the ‘very poor’ category over the coming days. Since Diwali, the city’s air quality has consistently hovered between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’, occasionally reaching the ‘severe’ category.
According to CPCB classification, an AQI of 0–50 is considered “good”, 51–100 “satisfactory”, 101–200 “moderate”, 201–300 “poor”, 301–400 “very poor”, and 401–500 “severe”.
With PTI inputs