NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality was in the “poor” category on Tuesday morning as partly overcast weather was likely in the city with the minimum temperature expected to be 11 degrees Celsius and the maximum 25 degrees Celsius.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the hourly Air Quality Index (AQI) was 214 at 7 am. On Monday, the average 24-hour AQI was 239 in the “poor” category, which can cause breathing discomfort to people with prolonged exposure, and discomfort to those with heart diseases.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.
On Tuesday, the Union earth science ministry’s air quality monitoring agency System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research said the maximum and minimum temperatures are unlikely to change significantly for the next three days. “Low wind speeds for the next three days are likely to reduce ventilation and AQI is expected to worsen to ‘upper end of poor’ or ‘lower end of very poor’. From February 17 [Thursday] onwards, the AQI is likely to improve due to moderate wind speed.”
