Delhi air pollution worst in the world on Friday, shows Swiss firm data

Delhi government has ordered WFH for 50 per cent of govt staffers, primary schools have been ordered shut

The nation’s capital had the worst air quality in the world on Friday.

To limit the consequences of rising air pollution in Delhi, the state government announced the closure of primary schools and work-from-home for 50 per cent of the government employees on Friday.

With Delhi’s Air quality index (AQI) – which measures the daily air quality in an area – touching 415 (as of 4 PM on November 4), it was the most polluted city globally as per IQAir, a Swiss air technology company that measures air quality. Lahore in Pakistan was second in the list of most polluted cities on Friday with an AQI of 195. A Business Standard analysis of the average annual PM2.5 particulate matter– a major air pollutant– for the last four years found that Delhi had higher particulate matter present in its air compared to an all-India average. In 2021, Delhi’s AQI was 96.4, while India’s was 58.1, which is many times more than the recommended annual PM2.5 levels by the World Health Organization air quality guidelines. 

Days with good quality air in Delhi were zero in 2018, two in 2019, five in 2020 and one in 2021, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board.