Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 88 (satisfactory) on Tuesday. (Image: Shutterstock/File)
An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’, while the AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’ and between 101 and 200 ‘moderate’.
Mumbai’s air quality index, which stood at (113) on Tuesday, fared worse than Delhi’s (88), which denotes satisfactory air pollution level.
Delhi is considered as one of the worst polluted cities in the world and normally November onwards, the pollution days go up every year across India. Air quality index is nothing but the count of concentration of carcinogenic particulate matter 2.5 in air.
On the consecutive second day on Tuesday the lower wind speed and rise in humidity prevailed, eventually leading to a suffocating day with a thick cover of smog surrounding some part of the metropolis, said experts.
Mumbai
Despite the hazy cityscape, primarily caused by emissions from vehicles, as well as smoke and dust from slums and industrial areas lingering in the still air, the overall air pollution level in the city remained at a moderate 113.
This was only slightly higher than the Munday’s 115 reading, which was surpassed by Delhi at 165.
According to a TOI report, suburbs like Andheri (346), Mazagaon (317), and Navi Mumbai (317) experienced a deterioration, registering a ‘very poor’ air quality index compared to the previous day.
Meanwhile, areas like Chembur and Malad exhibited a ‘poor’ AQI, with others such as BKC, Borivali, Worli, Bhandup, and Colaba falling into the moderate category.
Delhi
Delhi on Tuesday recorded a high of 26.2 degrees Celsius, seven notches below normal and the lowest maximum temperature reported in October this year, weather department officials said. Overnight showers in the national capital had led to a dip in the minimum temperature, which settled at 17.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, in the morning.
Gusty winds accompanied by rain lashed parts of the national capital on Monday night. From 8.30 am on Monday to 8:30 am on Tuesday, the city logged 5 mm of rainfall, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data. The humidity at 8.30 am Tuesday stood at 80 per cent, dropping to 68 per cent at 5.30 pm.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) at 9 am stood at 123 which falls in the moderate category, which improved to 88 (‘satisfactory’) at 8 pm. An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe. An AQI above 500 falls in the severe plus category. The weather office predicted a generally cloudy sky for the rest of the day.
On Monday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 30.5 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season’s average.
An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’, while the AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’ and between 101 and 200 ‘moderate’.
