NEW DELHI: The national capital’s air quality deteriorated to the ‘poor’ category on Sunday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) touching 261, the highest recorded in more than 85 days, according to official data.
The AQI was the highest since April 17, when it stood at 263. The city had recorded an AQI of 140 on Saturday, while air quality remained in ‘moderate’ and ‘satisfactory’ categories for most of the month.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said the deterioration in Delhi-NCR’s air quality was caused by long-range transnational winds carrying mineral dust from storm activity in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, which moved towards northwestern India, including Delhi, leading to elevated PM10 concentrations.
Further, strong winds in the Indo-Gangetic plain have also led to spike in the capital’s AQI. Delhi’s air quality was recorded in ‘poor’ category on Sunday and is likely to remain in this range over next few days, the Commission for Air Quality Management said.
The AQI is expected to improve after the transnational dust spell subsides, it added. As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.
The IMD said the maximum temperature settled at 36.8 degrees Celsius, 1.3 notches above normal, while the minimum was recorded at 28.3 degrees Celsius, one notch above normal. Among other weather stations, Palam recorded a maximum temperature of 36.6 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 37 degrees Celsius, Ridge 36 degrees Celsius and Ayanagar 36.2 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperatures were 27.1 degrees Celsius at Palam, 27.2 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road, 25.6 degrees Celsius at Ridge and 27.4 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar.
The IMD has forecast strong surface winds during the daytime on Monday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures likely to settle around 37 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius, respectively.
