Delhi wakes to smoggy Sunday; air quality remains poor

New Delhi: The national capital, as well as its satellite cities, witnessed a smoggy morning on Sunday while their air quality remained at poor levels, Hindustan Times reported. Though air quality index (AQI) improved from 'severe' to the 'very poor' category, scoring 338 in Delhi, neighbouring Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Noida recorded 312, 368, 301 and 357, respectively. In Delhi, AQI of Lodhi Road, Pusa Road, Chandni Chowk and Delhi airport was recorded at 295, 313, 352 and 321, respectively, Sameer app noted.

To deal with the crisis, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced various emergency measures on Saturday, including closing schools for a week, banning construction activities and a work-from-home plan for government officials. The government would also submit a plan for a lockdown before Supreme Court, he had said.

Authorities have urged people to limit outdoor activities and cut vehicle use. The dropping of air quality to emergency levels was attributed to a rise in emissions from farm fires and unfavourable meteorological conditions. The meteorological conditions will be highly adverse till November 18, according to a sub-committee on Graded Response Action (GRAP). It added that agencies concerned must be ready to implement measures under the "emergency" category.

AQI scores between zero and 50 are considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 to 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

On Sunday, the national capital witnessed a minimum temperature of 10.1, three points below this season's average. Relative humidity was recorded at 83 per cent at 8:30 am. The maximum temperature expected is around 26 degrees Celsius.