New Delhi: The air quality in the national capital continued to deteriorate on Wednesday falling under ‘very poor’ category. The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded at 354 this morning, reported news agency ANI. The air quality in adjoining cities of Noida and Gurugram also continued to dip.
The AQI in Noida this morning was at 406, placing the city in the ‘severe’ category while in Gurugram the air quality remained ‘very poor’ with an AQI of 346. The air quality measured near Terminal 3 of Delhi airport also remained in ‘very poor’ category with an AQI of 350.
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", and 401 and 500 "severe".
On Tuesday also, the air quality in the national capital remained ‘very poor’ as well as the Air Quality Index was measured at 385, reported news agency ANI. The residents in the city woke up to a smoggy morning lowering the visibility. The air quality in the adjoining cities of Noida and Gurugram also witnessed a dip in the air quality.
The Air Quality Index in Noida was measured at 44 per cent placing it in the ‘severe’ category. Dhirpur in Delhi also had ‘severe’ air quality with an AQI of 594 while in Gurugram the air quality was ‘very poor’ with an AQI of 391.
With continued dip in the air quality in the national capital, the Commission for Air Quality Management on Tuesday directed the Delhi government to intensify preventive measures and consider deploying water sprinklers and anti-smog guns round-the-clock to check spiralling air pollution levels in the city.
The layer of acrid smog persisting over Delhi thickened on Tuesday amid calmer winds and raging farm fires in Punjab, with the city recording a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 424, the worst this year.