New Delhi: The National Capital Region witnessed a marginal respite from choking pollution on Wednesday, as air quality improved to the ‘very poor’ category and the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 349, according to data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The dense smog that had engulfed the region appeared to have cleared slightly, although several monitoring stations in the national capital continued to record AQI levels hovering close to the severe zone.
As per data recorded at 6:58 a.m., Noida emerged as the second most polluted city in the country, registering an AQI of 355.
Greater Noida followed with an AQI of 344, while Gurugram recorded 316 and Ghaziabad 309, all of which fell in the “very poor” category.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department said Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 23.2 degrees Celsius, which was 2.5 degrees above the seasonal average, and a minimum temperature of 8.8 degrees Celsius, 1.3 degrees higher than normal.
The Met Department forecast a minimum temperature of around 9 degrees Celsius and a maximum of about 19 degrees Celsius for Wednesday, along with the possibility of moderate fog conditions during the day.
It further predicted a gradual fall in minimum temperatures by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius over the next 24 hours across northwest and central India, with no major change expected thereafter.
A similar trend has been forecast for Delhi, with the minimum temperature likely to drop to around 7 degrees Celsius from Thursday onwards.
The slight improvement comes a day after the capital remained under a thick grey haze, with the 24-hour average AQI standing at 412 in the severe category at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
This marked a sharp deterioration from an AQI of 373, which was recorded in the very poor category at the same time on the previous day.
Of the 40 functional air quality monitoring stations in Delhi, five reported severe-plus AQI levels above 450.
These included Nehru Nagar at 465, Mundka at 457, Chandni Chowk at 453, Okhla at 452 and Jahangirpuri. As many as 26 stations continued to remain in the severe category.
The remaining monitoring stations across the city reported very poor air quality, according to data available on the CPCB’s SAMEER application.
On Tuesday, Delhi recorded the second-worst air quality in the country with an AQI of 412, trailing neighbouring Noida, which topped the list with an AQI of 426.
(IANS)
