Air Pollution Watch LIVE Updates: Delhi's AQI in 'Severe' Category for Day 3 as Capital Remains Engulfed in Smog

Three days after Diwali, Delhi’s overall air quality continues to remain under ‘severe’ category. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital on Sunday morning remained at 436. An AQI between 0-50 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’.

With hazy skies, Noida’s overall air quality index stands at 450 under ‘severe’ category.

The Delhi government on Saturday deployed 114 water tankers to sprinkle water on roads to settle dust, one of major contributors to air pollution, after the national capital’s AQI deteriorated following the Diwali festival. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai flagged off the water tankers, terming it an “emergency measure” to help people. “Last month, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had launched an action plan that is being implemented across the city.

Strong surface winds slightly improved Delhi’s air quality on Saturday but it remained in the ‘severe’ category as the contribution of farm fires in the city’s PM2.5 pollution reached the season’s highest of 41 per cent, officials said. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin, the city’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 449 (severe) at 8 am, and 437 at 4 pm.

Agra witnessed a rise in the number of people suffering from respiratory issues post Diwali even as the city recorded an air quality index at 380 on Saturday. The city has been covered in a dense layer of smog since Diwali on November 4. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the AQI at Agra was recorded at 380 at 4 pm.

Delhi’s overall air quality continues to remain ‘severe’ with Air Quality Index standing at 436, System of Air Quality & Weather Forecasting & Research (SAFAR) said.