Delhi's air quality remains 'moderate' as winter returns with strong winds

The improved air quality is mainly due to better weather conditions, with strong winds and light rainfall, earlier this week, that helped to clear pollutants

Delhi's air quality continued to remain in the 'moderate' category on Thursday because of strong winds. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 125 at 8 am on March 6, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

AQI across Delhi-NCR

Air quality improved further across Delhi-NCR,and remained in the 'satisfactory' or 'moderate' category. On March 5 at 4 pm, Delhi's 24-hour average AQI was 119. Haryana's Gurugram recorded an AQI of 145, while Noida and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh reported AQIs of 98 and 102, respectively.

Reasons for improved AQI

The improved air quality is mainly due to better weather conditions, with strong winds and light rainfall, earlier this week, that helped clear pollutants. The AQI is expected to stay in the 'moderate' category for the coming week due to continued favourable conditions. 

Revocation of Grap stage-I restrictions

With pollution levels easing, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Sub-Committee revoked Stage-I restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) across the National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday. This decision was influenced by improved weather, higher mixing heights and strong surface winds.

AQI categories

The CPCB classifies AQI as follows:

• 0–50 (Good)
• 51–100 (Satisfactory)
• 101–200 (Moderate)
• 201–300 (Poor)
• 301–400 (Very Poor)
• 401–500 (Severe)

Weather forecast for Delhi

The minimum temperature is expected to drop to 13 degrees Celsius, while the maximum may reach 29 degrees Celsius, with strong surface winds and cold evenings predicted for the day, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The relative humidity is 7 per cent and the wind speed is 7 kmph.