NEW DELHI: Delhi woke up to yet another day of hazardous air quality on Friday, with the city’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 309 at 9 am, as temperatures also began to dip.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) hourly air-quality bulletin, the city’s overall AQI later rose to 311.
Out of 38 monitoring stations in the national capital, 26 reported air quality in the ‘very poor’ category. Bawana was the most polluted area, with an AQI of 366, followed closely by Jahangirpuri at 348.
The CPCB defines AQI ranges as follows: 0–50 is considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’, and 401–500 ‘severe’.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 12.7 degrees Celsius, 1.6 notches below normal, while the relative humidity at 8:30 am stood at 67 per cent. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 26 degrees Celsius.
A layer of shallow fog is expected to persist throughout the day, leading to low visibility in several parts of the city, according to the IMD.