The overall Air Quality Index ( AQI ) of the national capital stands at 425 which is in the ‘severe’ category. The quality of air of the neighboring areas including Noida and Gurugram is also in the ‘critical’ and the ‘very poor category.
As the winters are onsetting gradually, the air quality keeps on deteriorating in Delhi and has gone down to the ‘severe’ category, reported the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). The AQI in Noida is at 570, while the AQI in Noida is at 375.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is put into “good”, an AQI between 51 and 100 is said to be ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 AQI is called ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 are ‘poor’, 301 and 400 is called ‘very poor, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’ according to government agencies. Gopal Rai, Delhi’s Environment minister informed on Tuesday that more than 34,000 pollution-related complaints were received through the Green Delhi application so far. 96 percent of these complaints have been resolved. There are almost 27 government agencies responsible for taking action. Some of them which have addressed the issues are South Delhi Municipal Corporation, New Delhi Municipal Council, Public Works Department, East Corporation, and Delhi Development Authority.
Delhi has seen the worsening of the air quality for the third consecutive day and became the third most polluted city of the country after Faridabad and Noida. It will further degrade in the upcoming days, predicted the pollution monitoring agencies. Wind speed was moderate during the afternoon but the humidity rose significantly over the 24 hours which made the air pollution worse. PM2.5, the primary pollution particle also kept worsening over the past 24 hours. It went down from 262.8 micrograms per cubic meter to 292 by 6 pm. The safe limit is considered for PM2.5 is micrograms per cubic meter.
The quality of air is affected by both local and external factors including industries, local transportation, construction work. These factors were contributed by the NCR region, Noida, Muzaddarnagar, and Bulandshahar as well.
In the tough times of the rapid spread of the COVID-19 across the country, the harsh winters have made the air pollution worse over the past couple of days. If appropriate measures are not taken by the government and the people, this can harm the people residing in the capital city. Some rain is expected to provide relief to the AQI of Delhi.