Delhi Gets Slight Post-Diwali Relief as AQI Drops to 299
Delhi's air quality deteriorated following Diwali celebrations on Sunday
New Delhi: Delhi witnessed some relief in air pollution levels on Wednesday morning, recording an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 299 in the 'poor' category, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data recorded at 7:00 AM.
Delhi's air quality deteriorated following Diwali celebrations on Sunday. Persistent pollution has been compounded by falling temperatures and moderate fog.
The Delhi government is taking pollution control measures to minimise the impact of particulate matter, including deploying water sprinklers across the national capital.
According to CPCB data, air quality at several monitoring stations across Delhi remained in the 'very poor' category. Chhawla recorded the highest AQI at 396, followed by Chandni Chowk at 379, DTU and IIT Delhi at 375 each, and North Campus at 374.
Other areas recording 'very poor' air quality included ITO (367), Burari Crossing (362), Pusa (359), NIH Narela (352), NSUT Jaffarpur (351), NSIT Dwarka (350), CRRI Mathura Road (348), Punjabi Bagh (341), JNU (339), and Aya Nagar (337).
Meanwhile, several other locations in the capital recorded air quality in the 'poor' category. Rohini and Ashok Vihar registered AQI readings of 298 each, followed by Dwarka Sector 8 at 295, Jharoda Kalan at 289, IGNOU Maidan Garhi at 287, IGI Airport (T3) at 282, Alipur at 279, and Uttam Nagar at 259. IMD Lodhi Road recorded the lowest AQI in this category at 203.
In the neighbouring National Capital Region (NCR), Greater Noida recorded an AQI of 240, while Noida registered 278. Gurugram also remained in the 'poor' category with an AQI of 292.
A day earlier, Delhi recorded an AQI of 307 at 7:00 AM on Tuesday, placing it in the 'very poor' category. On Monday, several monitoring stations reported 'severe' air quality, with AQI levels crossing 400 amid a thick blanket of smog.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded a morning temperature of 20°C on Wednesday, with sunny conditions.
As per CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51–100 'satisfactory', 101–200 'moderate', 201–300 'poor', 301–400 'very poor', and 401–500 'severe'.