Rain brings relief in Delhi; AQI in moderate category
Residents of Delhi woke up to widespread rainfall on Monday morning, offering relief from the recent spell of intense heat.
Residents of Delhi woke up to widespread rainfall on Monday morning, offering relief from the recent spell of intense heat.
Residents of Delhi are currently experiencing noticeable relief from the intense heatwave that gripped the city in April.
Delhi witnessed a notable improvement in air quality on Tuesday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) falling into the 'satisfactory' and 'moderate' categories across several monitoring stations.
While efforts to mitigate the severity of the air pollution in the Delhi-NCR have been taken over the years consistently, of late there has been a steady increase in the number of good air days with a decline in the registered 'poor' to 'very poor', and 'severe' to 'severe (+) category air days, according to Dr SD Attri, an expert on the subject.
The strong winds that have been blowing for the past several days have had a positive impact on the air quality in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).
Delhi’s air quality remained entrenched in the very poor category for the 15th-consecutive day on Saturday, with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 338 at 7 a.m.
CREA study revealed that pollution levels in Delhi are 2.5 times the Indian standard and 20 times higher than the WHO guideline. Chandigarh ranked second on the list of most polluted cities.
The 24-hour average Air Quality Index stood at 382, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, driven largely by high PM2.5 levels.
For now, Delhiites can only watch as the city disappears behind a blanket of haze, hoping that authorities’ measures, however partial, can prevent an even deeper health crisis.
Experts from the Air Quality Early Warning System have forecast that pollution levels in Delhi are likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category for the next six days.
