Delhi's air quality dips to 'very poor' category
Dec 20, 2020
New Delhi [India], December 20 : As fog continues to engulf the national capital, the city's air quality index (AQI) has dipped into the 'very poor' category, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), on Sunday.
People were seen sitting near the fire to protect themselves from the cold in the Anand Vihar area.
Suresh, a local who was selling tea in the morning, says, "I work as a security guard, so I have to stay up all night. It's very cold and foggy here, we somehow manage to keep ourselves warm."
The overall AQI reported in Delhi today is 309. Areas like Lodhi Road, IIT Delhi, Noida, Pusa Road, Mathura Road reported very poor air quality.
The report published by SAFAR stated, "The overall air quality is at the lower end of the very poor category. Surface-level winds are moderate and Westerly. The cold day conditions are forecasted to intensify in the Delhi region and moderate surface winds are forecasted only till tomorrow and likely to slow down after that."
"So the current better dispersion conditions are likely to continue only for the next 24 hours and then the ventilation coefficient will decrease to deteriorate AQI. Hence, AQI is forecasted to stay in the 'Poor to Very Poor category' on December 20, deteriorate in the lower end of Very Poor on December 21 and further deteriorate to the middle-end of Very Poor by December 22", the report added.
An AQI between 0-50 is marked good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101- 200 is moderate, 201- 300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor and 401-500 is considered severe.
