Delhi air quality was seen deteriorating. The air quality index (AQI) on Friday was recorded at 374 as compared to 302 on the previous day.
The AQI for Delhi, however, is in the ”very poor” category, the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ air quality monitor System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting, And Research (SAFAR) said. An AQI between 0 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”.
Ten monitoring stations in Delhi entered the ”severe” zone, according to the AQI monitoring mobile application SAMEER, developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). These include Alipur with AQI of 447, Shadipur with 441, Mundka with AQI of 419, Wazirpur with 432, Anand Vihar with 405, Bawana with 413, Vivek Vihar with 422, Rohini- 401, Jahangirpuri with AQI of 418 and Patparganj with 405.
“Pollution has become a fact of life for the people of Delhi, they have to learn to live with it. Pollution is a part of modernization but people should be smart enough to help bring down the pollution here. These masks are now a part of our lives that will save us from pollution as well,” said another resident.
As per the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the situation is likely to remain in the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ category Sunday and Monday. “As per AQ-EWS models, the air quality over Delhi NCR is likely to remain in the Poor to lower end of the Very Poor category on 17.10.2020. The air quality is likely to remain in the Poor to the lower end of Very Poor category on 18.10.2020 and Very Poor category on 19.10.2020,” read the bulletin for Delhi.
