The air quality of Delhi and Noida improved to the ‘very poor’ category from ‘severe’ category and Gurugram’s was in the ‘poor’ category, as per the Central Pollution Control Board data.
The air quality of Delhi is forecast to further improve on Friday.
Air pollution of the ‘very poor’ category can cause “respiratory illness on prolonged exposure”, according to the government.
“Winds are forecast to pick up and improve the ventilation condition for the next two days. The AQI is forecast to improve towards the lower end of ‘very poor’ to the higher end of ‘poor’ for Friday. The lower end of the ‘very poor’ category is forecast for Saturday,” said a statement by SAFAR .
The AQI of Delhi was 302 on Thursday,, down from 413 on Wednesday, as per CPCB’s 4 p.m. bulletin, which is an average of the past 24 hours. The values for Gurugram and Noida were 289 and 301 respectively.
The air quality improved on Thursday as the surface winds picked up speed, which aids in dispersion of pollutants.
The contribution of stubble burning in neighbouring States to PM2.5, a chief pollutant, in Delhi was estimated to be only 1% on Thursday. Also, the number of fire counts in neighbouring States were only 37, as per SAFAR.
