Delhi's air quality improves to 'very poor' from 'hazardous' with AQI 342

The AQI has been oscillating between severe and the upper limit of very poor for the past one week, crossing 600 post-Diwali

Following light rainfall on Wednesday night, the air quality in the national capital slightly improved on Thursday, bringing down the pollution level to 'very poor' category from 'hazardous'.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of New Delhi was recorded at 342 at around 9:09 am as compared to 419 on the previous day.

Delhi's air quality "improved significantly" on Wednesday as overnight rains washed away bigger pollutants and stubble burning in neighbouring states declined, contributing just 3 per cent - the lowest this month- to pollution.
 

The AQI has been oscillating between severe and the upper limit of very poor for the past one week even crossing 600 post-Diwali.

 
According to SAFAR, the contribution of stubble burning to the pollution in Delhi was recorded the least on Wednesday for this month at 3 per cent. On November 5, the contribution of stubble burning was the highest this month at 33 per cent.
 
On Wednesday, the PM2.5 -- particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres -- level was recorded at 175, while the PM10 -- particles in the air with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres -- was recorded at 280 in Delhi, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board.

 
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 AQI of five places in New Delhi has been provided in the table given below.
 

Place	PM2.5	PM10
Noida	355	NA
Gurugram	360	NA
Dwarka	158	NA
Faridabad	188	NA
Anand Vihar	167	120