Improved wind speed brought down level of pollutants in national Capital's air quality on Thursday with the Air Quality Index (AQI) shifting to ‘moderate' zone. The breeze cleared up the hazy sky bringing much need relief to people in the city.
Delhi's average AQI was recorded 194, marking a significant improvement from Wednesday's 282 on a scale of 500, classified as ‘poor'.
Dipankar Saha, Air lab Chief of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), said, “Air quality is improving every hour and we hope it will continue to improve.”
“Now the wind is blowing very easily from north to south with a speed of 4.5 m/s, which has resulted in dispersion of pollutants, leading to improvement in the air quality after a long pause,” he had said.
The United Nations on December 5 marked the first International Smog Day. It is a moment to remember all of the people who have died prematurely, and avoidably, because of the air pollution, the United Nations Environment Programme had said in a statement.
Pollution is considered severe plus or emergency when readings of PM2.5 and PM10 cross 300 and 500 ug/m3, respectively. The corresponding prescribed standards are 60 and 100.
An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe.