Delhi's air quality falls to 'very poor' after nation celebrates Diwali

Delhi's air quality was in the 'very poor' category on Friday morning with the AQI at 386, after the nation celebrated Diwali. Earlier on Friday, the air quality at Delhi's Janpath reached the 'hazardous' category as concentrations of Pollution Meter (PM) 2.5 stood at 655.07.

The air quality index (AQI) was at 341 on Thursday morning and dropped to 382 by the evening, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the government’s pollution monitoring system.

According to SAFAR, Delhi's AQI would not improve till Sunday and will fluctuate in the 'very poor' category.
In Noida, the AQI was at 448, in the severe category, on Friday morning.

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'.

Reuters reported earlier this week authorities have warned that Delhi’s air quality is set to drop sharply in November. Factors including falling temperatures, a drop-off in wind speed, and farmers torching crop stubble are likely to turn the air hazardous.

A delayed end to the monsoon and a sharp pick-up in wind speeds ensured that the concentration of hazardous, small airborne particles known as PM2.5 in a cubic metre of air averaged 72 in October when air quality typically takes a turn for the worse.

That was sharply down from an average concentration of 126 recorded in October 2020 - 25 times over the World Health Organization's safe limit - according to data gathered by the state-run Central Pollution Control Board.