NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality deteriorated on Wednesday evening, slipping back into the ‘very poor’ category with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 305, as per the data. This is the second time this month that pollution levels have entered this bracket.
The previous instance was on February 4, when the Air Quality Index stood at 339. In comparison, the AQI was 271 on February 10 and 249 on February 9, placing it in the ‘poor’ category earlier this week.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 301 and 400 falls in the ‘very poor’ category, while 201–300 is classified as ‘poor’. The Air Quality Early Warning System has forecast that the city’s air quality will remain in the ‘poor’ category from February 12 to 14.
Meanwhile, temperatures saw a slight dip. Safdarjung, the city’s base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 27.5°C, 4.1 degrees above normal, compared to 28.6°C a day earlier. Palam reported a high of 25.4°C, while Lodhi Road recorded 27.1°C. Ridge and Ayanagar both registered maximum temperatures of 27.6°C, as per the data.
The minimum temperature at Safdarjung was 13.2°C, three degrees above normal. No rainfall was recorded across the city during the 24-hour period ending at 5:30 pm.