Delhi air quality remains 'very poor', likely to turn severe in coming days

New Delhi: Delhi's air quality remained locked in the 'very poor' category on Monday, with the air quality index (AQI) staying above 300, while forecasts suggest that pollution levels are likely to deteriorate further and slip into the 'very poor to severe' range in the coming days.

The 24-hour average AQI stood at 314 at 4 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), compared to 308 at the same time on Sunday.

In the morning hours, the AQI remained in the 'very poor' category at 318, compared to Sunday's reading of 308, marking a slight dip within the same category.

Meanwhile, the CPCB's Sameer app, till 6 pm, had not updated the pollution levels station-wise, but the morning readings revealed that 27 stations recorded 'very poor' air and 11 fell in the 'poor' category.

According to CPCB, an Air Quality Index between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor' and 401 to 500 'severe'.

According to the Decision Support System for Delhi's air quality management, transport within the city contributed 17.7 per cent to local pollution, followed by Delhi and peripheral industries at 8.5 per cent, waste burning at 1.6 per cent, construction at 2.4 per cent and residential sources at 4.3 per cent.

Among neighbouring NCR districts, Jhajjar contributed 11.5 per cent, Rohtak 5.1 per cent, Sonipat 8 per cent, Gurgaon 1 per cent and Jind 3.4 per cent.

The India Meteorological Department said that the maximum temperature settled at 26.3 degrees Celsius, which is 1.5 notches below normal, while the minimum temperature in the morning was recorded at 8.7 degrees Celsius, about 0.9 notches below normal.

The relative humidity in the evening touched 52 per cent and 84 per cent in the morning.

For Tuesday, the IMD has predicted a partly cloudy sky with surface wind speeds of 15 to 25 kmph. The minimum temperature is likely to be around 9 degrees Celsius and the maximum around 24 degrees Celsius.