New Delhi, Oct 22: The air quality in the national capital of India Delhi deteriorated to “poor” levels as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) for the city reached 266 on Saturday evening, as reported by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
Specifically, the AQI at Dhirpur entered the “severe” category, with PM 2.5 levels at 342, which is classified as “very poor.”
Experts have expressed concerns that the air quality may continue to hover in the “very poor” category on Monday.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is categorized as follows:
0-50: Good
51-100: Satisfactory
101-200: Moderate
201-300: Poor
301-400: Very Poor
401-500: Severe
In other areas of Delhi, such as Pusa, the AQI recorded PM 2.5 levels at 200, classifying it as “very poor.” At Lodhi Road, the Air Quality Index had a PM 2.5 concentration of 173, which falls under the “moderate” category, while PM 10 stood at 135, also in the “moderate” category.
The IIT Delhi station reported a PM 2.5 level of 228, categorizing it as “poor,” and PM 10 levels of 134, marking it as “moderate.”
On Mathura Road, the Air Quality Index was categorized as “moderate,” with PM 2.5 levels at 162 and PM 10 concentration at 132.
According to SAFAR’s forecast, the air quality in the city is expected to deteriorate further, with PM 2.5 reaching 297 and PM 10 concentrations at 161 on Sunday, both classified as “poor” and “moderate” respectively.
The air quality in neighboring cities is also a concern. In Noida, the AQI stood at 290, with PM 10 levels at 258, both in the “poor” category, while Gurugram reported an AQI of 152 and PM 10 concentrations at 126, classifying it as “moderate.”