Delhi's Air Quality Back To 'Severe', Likely To Improve In Next 2-3 Days
The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was 401 at 8 am. It improved to 387 at 11 am, which is categorised as very poor. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good.'
Air quality in Delhi dropped to "severe" again on Friday morning before improving slightly to 'very poor'.
Delhi's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) was 401 at 8 am, which falls under the severe category, but it improved to 387 at 11 am, which is categorised as very poor.
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Why Delhi's AQI is improving
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", 401 and 450 "severe", and above 450 "severe-plus".
Delhi has been witnessing a gradual increase in AQI levels after a marginal improvement since Sunday.
The increase in AQI levels came after the Centre removed stringent curbs on Saturday, including a ban on construction work related to linear projects and the entry of polluting trucks in Delhi, following a drop in pollution levels due to favourable wind speed and direction.
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How much will Delhi's air quality improve?
According to the air quality early warning system developed by the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, pollution levels will likely oscillate in the "very poor" to "severe" categories in the next five to six days.
On Thursday, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the air quality is expected to improve in the next two to three days.
When will restrictions be lifted?
Rai said the air quality is expected to improve from the "very poor" category in the coming days, but the ban on certain vehicles will continue under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) III regulations.
"Under GRAP III, BS 3 petrol and BS 4 diesel vehicles are still banned," Rai told PTI.
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"Scientists are saying that the air quality will improve in the coming 2-3 days. As per the present conditions, it was decided that GRAP III regulations will continue in Delhi for now," he said.
The minister further informed that the restrictions under GRAP IV have been modified and now include a ban on BS 3 petrol and BS 4 diesel vehicles with All India Permit, which were allowed to enter Delhi earlier.
If Delhi air quality deteriorates in the future and GRAP IV is invoked again, such vehicles will be banned from entering the national capital, he said.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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