Delhi Air Quality Shows Slight Improvement, Remains in Very Poor Category at AQI 305
Smog persists across the capital amid cold spell; Mundka records the highest AQI at 365 as transport and local emissions continue to contribute.
Delhi, Dec 7: A dense layer of smog continued to envelop the national capital on Sunday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 305, remaining in the ‘very poor’ category, slightly lower than the previous day. The ongoing cold spell kept temperatures in single digits, exacerbating air pollution levels.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Mundka recorded the highest AQI at 365 at 7 am. Out of Delhi’s 39 monitoring stations, 26 reported very poor air quality, while the remaining 13 recorded levels in the ‘poor’ range.
Stations in the very poor category included RK Puram (326), Punjabi Bagh (320), Chandni Chowk (308), Rohini (341), Vivek Vihar (304), Bawana (352), Sirifort (318), Wazirpur (337), Anand Vihar (327), Ashok Vihar (325), and Sonia Vihar (320). Locations reporting poor air quality included Alipur (282), NSIT Dwarka (239), Mandir Marg (212), IGI Airport (227), Aya Nagar (263) among others.
For reference, CPCB categorises AQI as follows: 0-50 ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.
Delhi’s air quality fluctuated significantly over the past week, with AQI levels recorded at 279 on Sunday, 304 on Monday, 372 on Tuesday, 342 on Wednesday, 304 on Thursday, and 327 on Friday.
The Decision Support System for Delhi’s Air Quality Management highlighted that local transport contributed 14.8% to pollution, followed by industrial activities in Delhi and nearby regions at 7.3%, residential sources at 3.6%, and construction at 2%. Among neighbouring NCR districts, Jhajjar contributed 13.9% and Rohtak 5.2%.
Weather Update
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted a minimum temperature of 9°C and a maximum of 24°C on Sunday, with partly cloudy skies and shallow morning fog. On Saturday, the maximum temperature settled at 24.6°C, slightly below normal, while the minimum was 6.8°C. Evening relative humidity stood at 56%, and morning humidity reached 95%.
