Delhi chokes as AQI slips to ‘very poor’ after brief respite, CPCB says no respite till Dhanteras 

After a brief improvement in air quality in air quality over the national capital, the air quality index (AQI) again slipped back to ‘very poor’ category on October 27 morning.  

There was marginal improvement in Delhi AQI at 255 on October 26 from 270 on October 24 — both in the ‘poor’ category of the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB’s) daily bulletin. 

However, the marginal improvement in the 24-hour average was extremely short lived with the AQI slipping to 291 on verge of ‘very poor’ level by 8pm yesterday, as per real-time data. 

As per real time data, AQI at the following places were recorded as ‘Hazardous’ on October 27 morning stood as follows – Mundka (444), Pooth Khurd (431), ITI Jahangirpuri (373), Alipur (344), Narela (332), RK Puram (330), Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium (318) and Anand Vihar (303). 

Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) bordering Delhi also saw a dip in air quality with Indirapuram recording an AQI of 496 followed by Loni at 303 as of 8 am today. 

Forecasts by the Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi suggested that the respite may be short-lived and the air quality might deteriorate into the ‘very poor’ category by today. The situation is unlikely to improve till Dhanteras (October 29). 

“The air quality is likely to be in very poor category from Sunday to Tuesday. The outlook for the subsequent six days is that the air quality is likely to be in very poor to severe category,” the AQEWS said in its forecast. 

Delhi’s AQI hit the ‘very poor’ mark for the first time this season on October 21. The government has already initiated Stage-2 measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across NCR following the slump in AQI. 

An AQI reading of 0-50 is categorised as ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has announced a complete ban on all types of firecrackers until January 1, 2025, in an effort to curb air pollution. This ban includes the manufacturing, storage and selling of all firecrackers in the national capital, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee said.

The Centre on October 26 urged states to strengthen implementation of existing micro-level action plans for crop residue management, as authorities race to prevent the annual air quality crisis in the national capital.

Official data shows stubble burning incidents have decreased 35 per cent in Punjab and 21 per cent in Haryana compared to last year, with overall cases down 51 per cent since 2017.