New Delhi, Oct 31 Delhi’s air quality declined to the ‘moderate’ category on Saturday after enjoying a brief respite in the ‘satisfactory’ category the previous day.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) settled at 117, up from 60 recorded on Friday.
The AQI of 60 on Friday marked the cleanest October air in four years. The last time Delhi experienced a lower AQI in October was on October 10, 2022, when the index was at 44.
Of the 58 air quality monitoring stations in the city, 24 recorded ‘satisfactory’ air quality, 32 were in the ‘moderate’ category, and two recorded ‘poor’ air quality. Jahangirpuri recorded the worst AQI at 243, followed by Punjabi Bagh at 212.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as ‘good’, 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 as ‘severe’.
The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi shows that air quality is expected to remain in the ‘moderate’ category on Sunday but may deteriorate into the moderate to ‘poor’ range. For the following six days, it is likely to remain in the ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ category.
According to the Decision Support System (DSS), Delhi’s transport sector contributed 16.3 per cent to the city’s pollution levels, followed by residential sources at 4.1 per cent, peripheral industries at 2.9 per cent, construction at 2.1 per cent, energy at 1.4 per cent and other sectors at 1 per cent.
Among the NCR districts, Gurugram contributed 6.5 per cent, Jhajjar 5 per cent, Faridabad 4.3 per cent, Gautam Buddh Nagar 3.7 per cent, Bulandshahr 2.2 per cent, Meerut 0.5 per cent and Panipat 0.4 per cent.
Stubble burning contributed 19.1 per cent to Delhi’s pollution levels, while other sources accounted for 18.3 per cent, according to the DSS.
(PTI News)
