The air quality of Delhi, Gurugram, and Noida — which are part of the NCR (National Capital Region) — worsened to the ‘very poor’ category on Thursday morning, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was 318 at 10 a.m. and the values for Gurugram and Noida were 302 and 315 respectively.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
The AQI of all three cities was in the ‘poor’ category, as per CPCB’s 4 p.m. bulletin on Wednesday, which is an average of the past 24 hours.
Also, a ban on diesel generators, except for emergency purposes, came into force in Delhi and neighbouring cities from Thursday as part of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) measures to control air pollution.