Delhi pollution: Air Quality Index docks at 'Poor' category, to deteriorate slightly in next two days

The air quality in the national capital and areas around was slightly better on Monday with the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching the lower end of 'Poor' category. The city has been reeling under severe air pollution since the fag-end of October. In the morning the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi docked at 218, according to the Center-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

The AQI was recorded the highest in Chandni Chowk at 328, followed by IIT Delhi at 266, Airport (T3) and Ayanagar at 245, Mathura Road at 235, Lodhi Road at 201, Delhi University at 191, Dhirpur at 188 and Pusa at 182. The AQI in Noida stood at 170 and Gurugram at 279. 

According to SAFAR, the strong surface wind speed is the main factor contributing to the betterment of AQI through increasing ventilation. The SAFAR model forecast suggests AQI is likely to further improve and stay in the lower end of the poor category for Monday.

A marginal deterioration in air quality is forecasted for November 25 but within the higher end of the 'Poor' category to lower end of 'Very Poor'. The AQI is likely to stay in the poor category on November 26 and may improve further in case of sufficient rain to wash away.

The fire counts as per SAFAR multi-satellite product estimate is 349. The stubble transport-level winds are northwesterly and favorable for plume transport, but the high winds won't allow pollutant accumulation hence no significant stubble impact is expecting for the next two days.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered `good`, 51-100 `satisfactory`, 101-200 `moderate`, 201-300 `poor`, 301-400 `very poor` and 401-500 is marked as `severe`. An AQI above 500 falls in the `severe plus` category.

During winter each year, most of northern India suffers from a spike in toxicity in the air due to the change in weather patterns and crop residue burning in the neighbouring states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.