Delhi's air quality is still considered "moderate," with an AQI of 129

 Delhi's air quality is still considered "moderate," with an AQI of 129

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), on October 9th, the national capital's overall air quality remained in the moderate category with an AQI of 129. According to SAFAR statistics, the AQI in IIT Delhi was 85 at 10:30 am, while it was 51 in Mathura Road, both of which fell into the "satisfactory" range. While Gurugram achieved an AQI of 66 in the "satisfactory" category, Noida too witnessed a reported AQI of 95. 

Ayanagar, Lodhi Road, and the Airport (T3) all had AQI values of 93, 90, and 83, respectively. Despite the fact that the national capital's AQI was often in the moderate range, numerous locations there also had 'bad' AQI. Delhi University has an AQI of 201, according to SAFAR. According to statistics from the Central Pollution Control Board, the AQI in The neighborhood of Anand was recorded at 224, Wazirpur at 229, Rohini at 192, and RK Puram at 166 at 10:30 am.

Days after it had dipped into the "poor" zone, Delhi's air quality earlier on Sunday showed a little improvement and was rated in the "moderate" category. The meteorological agency reported that the highest temperature was 36.5 degrees Celsius, two degrees above the season's average, and that the lowest temperature was 23.1 degrees Celsius, also two degrees above average.

The AQI scale classifies air quality checks as "good" between 0 and 50, "acceptable" between 101 and 200, "poor" between 201 and 300, "very poor" between 301 and 400, "severe" between 401 and 450, and "severe+" when the AQI surpasses 450.

Speaking about today's forecast, the weather service stated there would be some cloud cover and that the high and low temperatures would likely settle around 36 and 24 degrees Celsius, respectively.

AAP Chief Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar discussed the environmental problem in the city at a news conference. In the Economic Survey 2021-22 submit a complaint, which was recently tabled in the the legislature, it was stated that between 2016 and 2021, PM2.5 concentration (in Delhi) was reduced by 22%, whereas the level of PM10 was reduced by 27%. She attributed this to the political will of CM Arvind Kejriwal and the persistent efforts of the people of Delhi in the war against pollution.

"In 2022, Delhi's air quality increased by 8% more. This improvement reached 31% in 2023. The air quality in Delhi was the best last year, per a survey, in the previous 8 years, except the COVID era, she said.

As Delhi's air quality fell into the "poor" category earlier on Friday, the Centre's air quality panel ordered officials in the National Capital Region to implement a ban on the use of coal in hotels and restaurants and to take severe action against polluting enterprises and thermal power plants. The government's "Graded Response Action Plan" (GRAP), which is put into place in the Delhi-NCR to tackle air pollution during the winter, included this step in its pollution control strategy.