Post Diwali, Delhi’s Air Quality Turns ‘Severe’

New Delhi: Almost inevitably, air quality in India’s Capital city turned from bad to worse soon after Diwali.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), air quality recorded in Anand Vihar area on Friday was of ‘severe’ category because of poor dispersion of pollutants owing to weak winds.

According to Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 3 pm today, Anand Vihar’s average was 455 on the scale up to 500. The AQI in the area At 7 am was 455 — the highest recorded in the season so far.

The PM 10 level touched 500, highest on the scale, while PM 2.5 was recorded at 455. The average PM 10 level was 458, and average PM 2.5 was 400.

Even healthy people are affected, while those with existing diseases will have serious impacts under severe pollution conditions, according to CPCB.

‘Very poor’ air quality was recorded at Wazirpur (380), Patparganj (363), Vivek Vihar (397), Punjabi Bagh (370) and Jahangirpuri (397), while neighbouring Noida recorded a maximum PM 10 of 461.

AQI from 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’ and 401-500 ‘severe’.