Delhi’s air quality slipped into the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday morning, with the citywide Air Quality Index reaching 332 as thick smog covered the national capital. Jahangirpuri recorded the worst reading at 452, placing it in the ‘severe’ category, according to Central Pollution Control Board data reported by Millennium Post.
The deterioration followed Delhi’s first ‘very poor’ air quality day of the season on Monday, when the city’s AQI settled at 324. The latest reading indicates that pollution levels remained elevated across a large part of the capital as monitoring stations recorded poor, very poor and severe conditions.
At 9 am on Tuesday, eight of Delhi’s 57 monitoring stations recorded severe air quality, while 32 stations were in the very poor category. Two stations reported moderate air quality and the remaining 15 stations recorded poor air quality, according to the CPCB data.
The CPCB classifies AQI readings between zero and 50 as good, 51 and 100 as satisfactory, 101 and 200 as moderate, 201 and 300 as poor, 301 and 400 as very poor, and 401 and 500 as severe. Jahangirpuri’s reading of 452 was therefore substantially above the threshold for the severe category, while Delhi’s overall reading of 332 fell within the very poor range.
The monitoring data shows that pollution was not restricted to a single location. While Jahangirpuri recorded the highest reading, the distribution across 57 stations included 32 locations in the very poor category. This placed a majority of the reporting stations in a range associated with significantly degraded air quality under the CPCB’s classification system.
Weather conditions on Tuesday included relatively mild temperatures. The minimum temperature at Safdarjung, Delhi’s primary weather station, was 16.4 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees above the seasonal average. Palam recorded 16.2 degrees Celsius, with no departure from normal, while Lodhi Road recorded 16.2 degrees Celsius, 3.2 degrees above normal.
The Ridge station recorded a minimum temperature of 17.7 degrees Celsius, 0.6 degrees above the seasonal average, and Ayanagar recorded 17.2 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal. The India Meteorological Department forecast a mainly clear sky for Tuesday, with the maximum temperature expected to be around 29 degrees Celsius.
The latest readings leave Delhi’s air quality in the very poor category for a second consecutive day, while the severe reading at Jahangirpuri highlights the sharp variation in pollution levels between monitoring locations. Further changes will be reflected in subsequent CPCB readings and weather updates.
