Delhi AQI Back In 'Severe' Category As Punjab Farm Fires Remain A Worry — Top Points

The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) in the capital was 397 at 4 p.m. every day, up from 358 on Monday and 218 on Sunday.

Representational Image.

Source : IANS

Air pollution in Delhi on Tuesday approached the "severe" level due to poor weather conditions, and respite is unlikely to come soon, news agency PTI reported. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) in the capital was 397 at 4 p.m. every day, up from 358 on Monday and 218 on Sunday. Many parts of the city have significant air pollution (AQI values exceeding 400), including ITO (427), RK Puram (422), Punjabi Bagh (423), Nehru Nagar (450), Anand Vihar (439), and Nehru Nagar (450). Ghaziabad (356), Gurugram (386), Greater Noida (348), Noida (364) and Faridabad (384) were also among the cities with extremely poor air quality.

Top Points 

• On Tuesday, Delhi was the most polluted city in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss company that specialises in air quality monitoring, followed by Dhaka, Lahore, and Mumbai.
• Stubble-burning accounted for 12% of air pollution in the city on Tuesday, according to a technique created by the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology to assess the contribution of different pollution sources. It is expected to be 14% on Wednesday and 6% on Thursday.
• On Tuesday, Punjab recorded 1,776 stubble-burning events, bringing the total number of field fires to 28,117, while air quality indices in Haryana and the border state were 'bad' and'very poor,' respectively. 
• According to statistics from the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Bathinda had the most agricultural fires on Tuesday, with 258, followed by 253 in Barnala, 188 in Sangrur, 181 in Moga, 176 in Ferozepur, and 149 each in Fazilka and Faridkot. 
• Gurugram in Haryana had the highest air quality index (AQI) at 383, followed by Faridabad at 381, Hisar at 356, Narnaul at 340, Rohtak at 334, Kaithal at 321, Fatehabad at 313, Panipat at 300, Fatehabad at 299, Sonipat at 273, and Bhiwani at 263.
• Bathinda has the highest AQI (391), followed by Patiala (251), Ludhiana (240), Jalandhar (231), Mandi Gobindgarh (196), Amritsar (181), Rupnagar (149), and Khanna (109).
• The AQI in Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, was 167.
• According to the Central Pollution Control Board data, Mumbai on Tuesday recorded the Air Quality Index of 168 at 4 pm. The Air pollution level in the financial capital is "moderate."
• The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) in Pune has been 183 at 4pm, as per CPCB data, with an air pollution is at "moderate" level. 
• As per CPCB data, Patna on Tuesday recorded the Air Quality Index of 324 at 4 pm.