In Faridabad, the AQI slipped to 585 in the New Industrial Town area, with PM10 matter at 585 and PM2.5 levels at 207
Morning haze envelops the skyline on the outskirts of New Delhi on 16 October, 2020. AP
The air quality in the national capital remained very poor with the Air Quality Index (AQI) hitting 302, today, 1 November, ahead of Diwali, according to news reports.
The AQI in the city’s DITE Okhla area hit 329 or “hazardous levels” at 11 am this morning, with PM10 emissions at 329 and PM2.5 levels at 235, respectively.
The area of Loni, Ghaziabad had also seen its AQI drop to 409 or ‘hazardous’ this morning, with PM 2.5 matter hitting 409 and PM10 emissions at a level of 388 at 7 am today. The AQI continued to be in the “hazardous” category with PM10 levels reaching 335 at 11 am and PM2.5 levels reaching 254.
In Faridabad, the AQI slipped to 585 in the New Industrial Town area, with PM10 matter at 585 and PM2.5 levels at 207.
ITI Jahangirpuri saw its AQI slip to 293, in the “very unhealthy” category. The PM2.5 and PM10 emissions were at 219 and 293, respectively. In Anand Vihar, the AQI level was at 172, with PM2.5 and PM10 matter at 172 and 168, respectively.
The AQI at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the National Capital remained “very unhealthy”, with PM10 matter at 282. In RK Puram, the air quality fell to “unhealthy” with PM2.5 emissions at 192.
In Noida, the air quality reached “very unhealthy” levels with PM2.5 emissions at 185.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) run by the Centre government, the air quality in New Delhi will continue to be in the “very poor” category for the next few days, with levels of PM2.5 and PM10 matter rising. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the air quality will deteriorate significantly on 5 and 6 November, with PM2.5 being the main pollutant in the air.
AQI levels in the poor category and below lead to breathing issues and other discomforts for people. According to the US-EPA 2016 standard, an AQI of “hazardous”, “unhealthy” and “very unhealthy” is extremely harmful for the population and can lead to severe health problems.