NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality stayed in the “poor” category on Thursday, a day after authorities brought in the first stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-I). The city recorded an AQI of 226 in the morning, and three areas slipped into the “very poor” zone.
What the numbers show
Wednesday was Delhi’s first “poor” air day of this season, coming right after the Dussehra celebrations. The AQI jumped to 238, a rise of 59 points from Tuesday afternoon’s reading of 179.
Of Delhi’s 59 monitoring stations, three recorded “very poor” air on Thursday. Jahangirpuri and Vivek Vihar both showed an AQI of 309, while Chandni Chowk was at 306.
Several other areas stayed in the “poor” category:
- Bawana: 275
- Alipur: 273
- Patparganj: 298
- Rohini: 291
- ITO: 280
- Wazirpur: 253
- Anand Vihar: 237
- Akshardham: 237
- Ashok Vihar: 223
What the government is doing
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage 1 of GRAP across Delhi-NCR on Wednesday after reviewing the air quality.
Delhi’s Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the government was taking concrete steps to control the major sources of pollution. According to him, around 30 agencies are working under an 11-point pollution control plan, which follows guidelines from NITI Aayog and the CAQM.
Mumbai in the spotlight too
Mumbai recorded an AQI of 106 on Thursday morning, which falls in the “moderate” category. Out of its 26 monitoring stations, Bandra Kurla Complex-IITM showed the highest reading at 155, also “moderate.”
On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court called it “shocking” that Mumbai was beating Delhi in pollution levels. Justice Gokhale pointed to reports suggesting that officials may highlight readings from cleaner parts of the city while ignoring pollution near traffic signals and slum areas.
What do these categories mean?
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) sorts air quality into these groups:
- 0-50: Good
- 51-100: Satisfactory
- 101-200: Moderate
- 201-300: Poor
- 301-400: Very poor
- 401-500: Severe
According to the CPCB, “poor” air can cause breathing discomfort if you are exposed to it for a long time. “Moderate” air can cause discomfort to people with lung problems, asthma and heart disease.
