Air quality improves slightly after rain in Delhi but more relief a far cry

The overall Air Quality Index of Delhi was recorded at 266 which falls in the poor category

Delhi's air quality improved on Friday after rainfall in some parts of the national capital, according to authorities.

The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 266 which falls in the poor category, according to the Centre-run System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

A senior official said the reason for improvement of air quality was the rainfall on Thursday which lashed parts of the national capital, cleansing the air of the pollutants.

PLACE	AQI	PM2.5	PM10
R K Puram	185	175	135
National Stadium	172	172	140
Dwarka	174	174	N/A
Faridabad	179	178	N/A

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor" and 401 and 500 "severe".

The PM2.5 is said to have a greater impact than PM10 on health and is said to be more dangerous.

The PM10 level (presence of particles in the air with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres) in Delhi stood at 266 and the PM 2.5 (presence of particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) level was recorded at 110, according to the SAFAR data.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the air quality had deteriorated to the very poor category, alarming authorities who were planning to roll out more stringent measures to combat pollution.

A number of factors are responsible for the deteriorating air quality, including vehicular pollution and construction activities. Besides, pollution from stubble burning in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana adds to the woes of Delhi.

Among factors, the main reason is the drop and change of wind speed which is now flowing from the stubble burning areas, an official said.