New Delhi Dec 15 (FN Representative) The air quality in Delhi and NCR continued to remain in the “very poor” category on Wednesday, as the Air quality Index (AQI) stood at 354, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The air quality was in the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday as well, with an AQI of 357. “The air quality over Delhi-NCT is likely to remain in the very poor category on December 15. The air quality is likely to improve further and remain in the lower end of the very poor to poor category on December 16 and 17 as well”, said the IMD. The concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 10 stood at 174 in the ‘very poor’ and 289 in the ‘poor’ category respectively around 10 am, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
According to data of Central Pollution Control Board the Air Quality Index, several areas in the national capital including ITO, Lodhi Road, and Mandir Marg recorded in the “very poor” category with an AQI of 379, 322, and 331, while the AQI at Anand Vihar and Jahangirpuri were also in the “very poor” and “severe” category with an AQI 398 and 409 respectively. The neighbouring parts of Delhi, also recorded their air quality in the ‘poor to very poor’ category with Faridabad (at 347 ), Ghaziabad (305), Gurugram (354) and Noida sector 62, (326) An AQI between zero and 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’. Meanwhile, the Delhi government has decided that the entry of non-essentials trucks will remain banned in Delhi till further orders. According to IMD , the minimum temperature on Tuesday is likely to settle at around 8 degree Celsius and the maximum could be 23 degree Celsius.