New Delhi, Nov 28 (FN Bureau) Air quality in the national capital continues to remain in the ‘very poor’ category on Sunday as the Air Quality Index(AQI) recorded 401 today morning, said the India Meteorological department(IMD). In its morning bulletin, IMD said, “The air quality over Delhi-NCT is likely to remain in the upper end of Very Poor category on November 28. Winds are likely to be relatively strong during 29th and 30th November. The air quality is likely to improve but remain in the Very Poor category on November 29 and November 30.” According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) bulletin, the effective farm fire count is 219 and its contribution to Delhi’s PM2.5 on Sunday is six percent as per the agency. The concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 10 stood at 205 in the ‘very poor’ and 342 in the ‘poor’ category respectively around 10 am, said the agency.
Several areas in the national capital including ITO, Lodhi Road, and Mandir Marg recorded air quality in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ category with an AQI of 415, 359, and 387 respectively while the AQI at Anand Vihar and Jahangirpuri were in the ‘severe’ category with an AQI of 420 and 448 respectively. According to data of Central Pollution Control Board(CPCB) the Air Quality Index in the neighbouring parts of Delhi were also recorded in the ‘very poor’ or ‘severe’ category, Faridabad was at 444, while Ghaziabad was at 305, Gurugram was at 362 and Noida at 456. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, from 51 to 100 is satisfactory, from 101 to 200 is moderate, from 201 to 300 is poor, from 301 to 400 is very poor, and from 401 to 500 is severe.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has reimposed a ban on construction and demolition activities following Supreme Court’s directions. In view of an improvement in the air quality, the ban on construction and demolition activities was lifted on November 22. Earlier the Delhi government had decided to reopen the schools, colleges and educational institutions in the national capital from Monday, November 29 onwards. The ban on entry of diesel and petrol trucks carrying non essential items will continue till December 3. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) the sky will remain clear with the minimum and maximum temperature likely to hover around 11 and 27 degree Celsius respectively “The relative humidity at 0830hrs in the morning stood at 93 percent,” IMD said.