Delhi-NCR chokes again after brief respite; AQI crosses 300 in several areas
New Delhi: Delhi’s air quality deteriorated again on Monday as the Air Quality Index (AQI) moved closer to the “very poor” category, just a day after strong winds briefly improved conditions from ‘very poor’ to ‘poor’ for the first time in 16 days.
At 7 a.m., the AQI crossed the 300 mark, still in the “poor” category as a dense layer of fog and smoke blanketed the national capital, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
As per CPCB data, Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 325, and ITO also registered 325, both firmly placing these areas in the ‘very poor’ bracket. Meanwhile, locations around India Gate and Kartavya Path showed slightly better readings, with AQI levels at 267, which falls under the ‘poor’ category.
According to CPCB guidelines, an AQI reading between 0-50 is considered ‘good,’ 51-100 ‘satisfactory,’ 101-200 ‘moderate,’ 201-300 ‘poor,’ 301-400 ‘very poor,’ and 401-500 ‘severe.’
On Sunday, Delhi experienced a temporary improvement when the AQI dropped to 279, the second-lowest reading in November after the AQI of 202 recorded on November 5, as per the CPCB’s Sameer app.
Despite the improvement, nearly 22 out of 39 monitoring stations continued to record air quality in the “very poor” range. Between November 24 and 29, the city’s average AQI ranged between 327 and 382, before dipping to 305 on Saturday and further to 279 on Sunday morning.
With the Parliament Winter Session beginning on Monday, air pollution is expected to be one of the key concerns raised by Opposition parties. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had on Friday demanded a detailed discussion in the House on the issue, questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on what he described as a “health emergency”.
Rahul Gandhi also interacted with a group of women at his residence regarding the worsening air quality in the national capital. He later shared the conversation through a video posted on X, urging the Prime Minister to take urgent action.
“Every mother I meet tells me the same thing: her child is growing up breathing toxic air. They are exhausted, scared and angry. Modi ji, India’s children are choking in front of us. How can you stay silent? Why does your government show no urgency, no plan, no accountability?” he posted.
