Delhi Records World’s Most Toxic Air Well Ahead Of Diwali; What’s The Reason?

New Delhi: The national capital, known for its notorious air pollution levels, has recorded the world’s most toxic air.

Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) rose to as high as 346 on Monday, the highest among 110 global cities tracked by IQ Air, Bloomberg reported.

To get a perspective, AQI recorded in India’s financial capital Mumbai was 177.

Stubble burning, pollution from vehicles, construction and coal-fired power plants are the main contributing factors to polluted air in Delhi-NCR.

It’s between November and February that Delhi’s air quality is the worst. This time, AQI has hit record level well ahead of Diwali festivities.

Bloomberg quoted Anju Goel, an air quality research fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute, as saying that the poor AQI is due to a drop in temperature and slow wind speeds which affected the dispersal of pollution.

According to IQ Air data, Delhi recorded particulate matter (PM 2.5) of 296 micrograms per cubic meter of air, which is almost 20 times World Health Organization’s recommended level of 15.

At 4 pm on Monday, Delhi recorded an AQI of 313 in ‘very poor’ category, s per Central Pollution Control Board data.