Delhi logs best air quality for Feb in 9 years, AQI below 200 on most days

The data also showed that the national capital did not see a single day with an AQI above 400 in February. An AQI of above 400 marks the 'severe' category

Delhi recorded the best air quality for the month of February in nearly nine years, the data showed on Thursday. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi remained below the 200 mark for as many as 14 days in February, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.

The national capital also experienced 32.5 mm of rainfall in February this year, the highest in the month since 2013.

The data also showed that the national capital did not see a single day with an AQI above 400. An AQI of above 400 marks the 'severe' category.

The scale notes that an AQI level between 0 and 50 is considered to be 'good' while up to 100 suggests a 'satisfactory' air quality. An AQI of up to 200 is 'moderate' while an AQI of 201 and 300 is 'poor', and between 301 and 400 is "very poor".

February 2023 showed best air quality in 9 years

The data showed that for February 2024, Delhi average AQI remained 223. The same for 2016 was 293, 2017 - 267, 2018 - 235, 2019 - 242, 2020 - 240, 2021 - 281, 2022 - 225, 2023 - 237.

On Thursday, the last of February, Delhi's AQI at around 4 pm was recorded at 147 on CPCB's website.

What are air quality levels in Delhi districts today?

The website showed that AQI remained below the 200 mark in most of the places. Dwarka logged an AQI of 162, Dilshad Garden - 101, Jahangirpuri - 199, Lodhi Road and Major Dhyan Chand Stadium - 96, Mandir Marg - 117, Najafgarh - 151, Pusa - 177, Narela - 182, New Moti Bagh - 144, North Campus - 144, and Patparganj - 138.

The CPCB said that this data was compiled based on the information available through Delhi Pollution Control Committee, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research and other resources.

Notably, as part of pollution control measures, the Delhi government issued fresh guidelines last week in a bid to warn vehicle owners from plying their old-age vehicles on Delhi roads. The guidelines include details about fines of different categories of vehicles and possible scrapping of old vehicles on repetition of violations.