Delhi’s air quality fell into the ‘poor’ category on Friday morning, with the city’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 225 at 9 am, while several monitoring stations recorded readings close to the ‘very poor’ threshold, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.
A layer of smog hung over the city as the air deteriorated across monitoring locations. Data available on the CPCB’s SAMEER app showed that 38 stations recorded air quality in the poor category, while 18 stations reported moderate air quality.
The highest reading among the listed stations was recorded at Pusa, where the AQI stood at 290. RK Puram followed with an AQI of 284, while Rohini recorded 279. Narela reported an AQI of 272, and both Mathura Road and Dwarka recorded readings of 268.
Other major monitoring locations also remained in the poor category. North Campus of Delhi University recorded an AQI of 240, followed by the station at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport at 228 and Anand Vihar at 216. The readings place these locations within the CPCB’s poor-air band and, in some cases, close to the threshold for very poor air.
Under the CPCB’s classification, an AQI from zero to 50 is considered good, while readings between 51 and 100 are satisfactory. The moderate category covers AQI levels from 101 to 200, followed by poor air from 201 to 300, very poor air from 301 to 400 and severe air from 401 to 500.
Weather conditions remained relatively warm for the season. The minimum temperature at Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, was recorded at 19 degrees Celsius, which was 1.8 degrees above normal. Palam recorded the lowest minimum temperature among the listed stations at 18.3 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degrees above normal.
Lodhi Road recorded a minimum temperature of 18.6 degrees Celsius, or 2.6 degrees above normal. Ayanagar and the Ridge recorded minimum temperatures of 19.1 degrees Celsius and 19.2 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The India Meteorological Department said the maximum temperature was expected to settle at around 32 degrees Celsius, with mainly clear skies during the day. The weather forecast and the station-level pollution readings together provided the official conditions reported for the city on Friday morning.
