Air Quality Improves in Delhi and Neighboring Areas

Last week, a survey conducted by LocalCircles revealed that 80 percent of the families residing in Delhi and adjoining areas have said that at least one family member has suffered pollution-related ailments in the past weeks.

Residents of Delhi witnessed relief after air pollution levels improved to "poor" from "very poor", with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 221 on Tuesday, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

An AQI from 0 to 100 is considered 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. If it exceeds 400, it is considered severe.

Apart from Delhi, the air quality improved to 162 in adjoining city Gurugram, placing it in the "moderate" category.

In Noida, the air quality continued to be in the "very poor" category, with an AQI of 302.

Speaking of other parts of Delhi, Dhirpur recorded an AQI of 303, Lodhi Road recorded 152 in the "Moderate" category while Mathura road recorded an AQI of 232, and Pusa witnessed an AQI of 186.

A review meeting was held on Monday by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the sub-committee for invoking actions under Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) in view of the improvement of the overall air quality in Delhi and NCR in the last few days.

It was decided in the review meeting to uplift the restrictions under Stage III of GRAP while Stage II and I will continue to be in place.

GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) is an emergency response action plan invoked with a view to curb the further deterioration of adverse air quality scenarios in Delhi and the NCR.