Air quality dips to very poor again; IMD warns of cold wave

After days of sharp rises and plunges in pollution, Delhi’s air slid back into the “very poor” bracket on Thursday evening, wiping out the short-lived morning relief when the city had briefly climbed to “poor” levels.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the 24-hour average AQI stood at 304, placing the city firmly in the “very poor” bracket. In the morning hours, the city had shown marginal improvement with an AQI reading of 299, according to the CPCB data, before levels deteriorated again by late afternoon.

Data from the CPCB’s SAMEER app showed that 27 of the 40 monitoring stations in the Capital recorded “very poor” air quality through the day, with Nehru Nagar logging the highest AQI at 362. According to the CPCB, an Air Quality Index between 0 and 50 is classified “good,” 51 to 100 “satisfactory,” 101 to 200 “moderate,” 201 to 300 “poor,” 301 to 400 “very poor,” and 401 to 500 “severe.

Delhi’s air quality has swung sharply through the week. The city recorded an AQI of 279 on November 30, slipped back to 304 on December 1, rose further to 372 on December 2, edging towards the “severe” mark, and stood at 342 on December 3 before Thursday’s brief morning improvement and evening decline.

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the city’s AQI is expected to remain in the “very poor” category over the next few days. According to the Decision Support System for Delhi’s air quality management, the transport sector accounted for 13.7 per cent of Delhi’s pollution on Thursday, the highest among local contributors. Transport emissions are forecast to account for 15 per cent of pollution on Friday, it added.