Delhi's air quality remains 'very poor' for fifth straight day

As per the SAFAR-India, the city's Air Quality Index (AQI) was 343 (very poor) this morning. The AQI on Sunday was (309).

The AQI from 0 to 100 is considered 'good', while from 100 to 200 it is 'moderate', from 200 to 300 it is 'poor', from 300 to 400 it is said to be 'very poor' and from 400 to 500 or above it is considered 'severe'.

The AQI in the national capital was recorded at 322 on Monday and 327 on Tuesday, as per the data provided by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)-India.

In the NCR, the overall air quality in Noida was also recorded in the very poor category today, with an AQI of 397.

On Wednesday, the AQI in Noida was 391 while in Gurugram it was 323 (very poor).

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms that are easy to understand. It transforms complex air quality data on various pollutants into a single number (index value), nomenclature, and colour.

Last week, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that a 15-point winter action plan is being implemented one by one to curb pollution.

"Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced a 15-point winter action plan to curb the pollution caused by vehicles, biomass burning, dust, etc. Now this winter action plan is being implemented on the ground one by one to reduce pollution in the national capital," Rai had told ANI.

The Delhi Minister added that since one of the major causes of pollution is vehicles, they have started the 'Red Light on, Gaadi off' campaign on October 26.

"Now the data says that in AQI the level of particulate matter (PM) 10 is decreasing and that of PM2.5 is increasing. This means that pollution caused by vehicles and biomass burning is increasing. For this, the 'Red Light on, Gaadi off' campaign has been started," the Delhi minister said. (ANI)