Delhi morning air quality remains 'very poor', NCR borders on 'severe'

The air quality in Delhi continued to remain in the 'very poor' category on Wednesday morning as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city stood at 354. Noida, which is part of the national capital region, slipped to an AQI of 406, and continued to remain in the 'severe' category, while Gurugram's AQI stood at 346 and continued to remain in the 'very poor category, as per data released by SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) India.

Air Quality Index from 0 to 100 is considered as good, while from 100 to 200 it is moderate, from 200 to 300 it is poor, and from 300 to 400 it is said to be very poor and from 400 too 500 or above it is considered as severe.

A little less poor air quality in Delhi's satellite cities gave some respite to the people, but it is only a relative term from the previous day.

The city of Delhi too fared very poorly. Narela in North West Delhi reported the highest AQI at 571 on Tuesday. North Delhi Air Quality is the poorest at the moment as almost all the stations have AQI above 400. Most of the stations in the capital have an AQI above 300 except a few like Mandir Marg in central Delhi.

According to data by SAFAR, Dhirpur in Model Town dipped to an AQI of 356. The AQI near IGI Airport (T3) also stood in the 'very poor' category on Wednesday at 350.

Delhi slipped into 'severe' on the AQI meter on Saturday. With air pollution worsening in the national capital, Delhi authorities halted all construction work and demolition activities till further orders.