Delhi-NCR breathes sigh of relief as AQI indicates slight improvement in air quality

New Delhi: Air quality in the national capital witnessed a slight improvement on October 18 as compared to Friday. With an overall air quality index (AQI) of 306, Delhi's air is cleaner on Friday with respect to the previous week where high concentrations of pollutant particle PM2.5 resulted in higher AQI for Delhi-NCR.

Neighbouring areas such as Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Gurugram in Haryana also recorded improved AQIs, according to the latest estimates updated by System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

Dhirpur village in Delhi's Model Town area recorded the highest AQI of 316 where the concentration of PM2.5 was considerably higher than that of PM10 at an AQI of 178. Air quality in most areas, including Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) Terminal-3, Delhi University, IIT-Delhi and Lodhi Road was in the 'very poor' category on Friday at AQIs of 315, 309, 303 and 302 respectively.

Meanwhile, areas in central Delhi witnessed significant areas. Chandni Chowk recorded an AQI of 287, putting air quality in the area at 'poor' category. Similarly, an AQI of 276 was recorded at Pusa and 267 at Mathura Road. At the same time, Noida recorded an AQI of 305 and Gurugram an AQI of 314. This can be attributed to the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) which came into effect on Tuesday.

A recent report by the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority revealed that stubble burning accounts only for 10 per cent of the air pollution caused in the national capital region, especially Delhi. Dust and chimney pollution along with the open burning of plastic and rubber scrap is major cause for concern apart from vehicular emissions. These factors together contribute to 90 per cent of air quality in Delhi, added the report.