Delhi wakes up to cold, severely polluted air with an AQI value of 411

Aizwal, the capital city of Mizoram registered the best air quality with an Air quality index value of 18

With the cold wave tightening its grip on North India, Delhi's air quality was under the "Severe" category with an Air Quality Index (AQI) value of 411, according to data provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The national capital registered a 9.4 degrees Celsius temperature in the morning on Monday, December 25. The drop in temperature was combined with the visibility dropping to 125 metres in several parts of Delhi, which resulted in flight delays.

How is the air quality in Delhi NCR region?

Areas in and around the national capital registered "Very Poor" air quality, with some regions reporting "Severe" air quality. Adjoining regions of the national capital also registered "Poor", "Very Poor", and "Severe" air quality. Noida, for instance, had an AQI value of 368. Ghaziabad, on the other hand, registered an AQI value of 360. Meerut in Uttar Pradesh also registered unhealthy air quality with an AQI value of 244, according to CPCB data.

Regions with the worst air quality

Regions in Haryana also registered unhealthy AQI, with Bahadurgarh registering the worst air quality index value at 428. Rohtak, another district in Haryana, had "Very Poor" air quality with an AQI value of 318.

Gurugram and Faridabad also registered "Very Poor" air quality with AQI index values of 304 and 327, respectively.

Aizwal, the capital city of Mizoram, registered the best air quality with an AQI index value of 18.

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, 401 and 450 severe, and above 450 severe-plus. Responding to the prevailing air-quality conditions, all non-essential construction work has been banned in the Delhi-National Capital Region.

Steps taken by the Delhi government to control pollution

Delhi's environment minister, Gopal Rai, took to X, formerly Twitter, on December 23 and said that boring, drilling, and digging would be prohibited. Loading and unloading of construction materials will also be banned. Transportation on non-metalled roads will not be allowed. Activities related to polishing and varnishing will also not be allowed. Projects of national importance will be allowed to continue, the post said.