Air Quality in Delhi Dips to 175 Thanks to Surprise Rain

Scattered rainfall in Delhi and surrounding regions washed out some of the pollutants, bringing down the AQI.

The air quality in the national capital on Tuesday, 17 November, was recorded at 175, according to data by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). With increased stubble burning in Punjab and nearby regions, the air quality is expected to deteriorate further.

According to the Central Board, the air quality in Noida is 159 and in Gurugram it is 252.

Days after Diwali a surprise shower, cool surface wind and relatively less stubble burning activity in the vicinity of the national capital brought down Delhi's air quality index from 525 to 273 within 24 hours.

Delhiites relaxed a bit as they could comparatively breathe better on Monday after consistently battling the severe level of air quality which persisted over a week.

The Central Pollution Control Board of India recorded a significant improvement of the ambient air quality from 525 on Sunday to 273 on Monday.

As per the Ministry of Earth Science officials, surface winds which are blowing in northeasterly direction (not favourable for stubble-burning smog from entering Delhi), besides scattered rainfall in Delhi and surrounding region have washed out some of the pollutants, bringing down the AQI reading.

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) recorded the overall AQI of the national capital at 319. The CPCB notified the overall air quality of Delhi in the upper end of "Poor" category while the SAFAR monitored it in the lower end of the "Very Poor category".

How is Air Quality Index Categorised?

There are six AQI (Air Quality Index) categories, namely Good + Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe. Each of these categories is decided based on ambient concentration values of air pollutants and their likely health impacts (known as health breakpoints).

Delhi NCR Region Air Quality Index on 17 November

(with inputs from IANS)