Delhi Air Quality Sees Significant Improvement, But National Capital Yet To Breathe Clean Air

The air quality in Delhi improved by a large margin on the morning of Monday, November 24, with the AQI dropping to the ‘poor’ category. The National Capital recorded an AQI of 279 at 5:30 AM. The AQI at 8 AM on Sunday was 357. 

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”, 401 and 450 “severe” and above 450 “severe-plus”.

Most of the AQI monitoring stations in the National Capital Region recorded figures below 200. However, a few still recorded AN AQI above 200, with the highest being recorded at Mathura Road (251). Delhi University recorded an AQI of 200.3, while Noida logged an AQI of 208.3.

The lowest AQI was recorded at the Gurugram monitoring station, which logged 77.51.

Despite the drop in AQI, there seemed to be a haze in the Delhi air as indicated by visuals released by news agency ANI.

Areas like Akshardham, Anand Vihar and Kartavya Path saw a thick layer of haze and fog. The alarming AQI level until Sunday had prompted the Delhi government to issue a work-from-home advisory for its employees. The Gurugram administration had also issued a similar directive on November 20, owing to the extreme pollution.

Meanwhile, the nation’s financial capital Mumbai saw even cleaner air with the AQI being recorded at 192 at 5.30 AM. However, Mumbai, too, saw a smog concentrated in some areas of Bandra and Khargar in Navi Mumbai.