The air quality in Delhi and nearby cities reached hazardous levels a day after Diwali with the widespread violation of the firecracker ban across the National Capital Region (NCR) on Sunday raising environmental concerns.
Most realtime air monitoring platforms this morning pegged the air quality index (AQI) above 500, with some places reaching as high as 900. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium recorded an AQI of 910, Lajpat Nagar 959 and Karol Bagh 779 around 6 am, according to aqi.in.
The average AQI was around 300 at most places, showed data recorded by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The level of PM2.5 pollutants crossed 500 at most places across the city during the day.
Air quality index is an indicator to measure air pollution. 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’.
The Supreme Court last week clarified that its order banning firecrackers that has barium binds every state and is not just limited to the Delhi-NCR region. In September, the court had refused to interfere with the Delhi government’s ban on firecrackers, saying people’s health is important.
Delhi yesterday recorded its best Diwali day air quality in eight years with clear skies and abundant sunshine. The AQI stood at 218 at 4 pm, the best in at least three weeks, with rains last week bringing about a slight improvement.
