Not much relief from rain showers, Delhi’s AQI still in 'very poor' category

New Delhi: Rain in several parts of Delhi-NCR during the day on Friday provided much-needed respite from the escalating air pollution, resulting in the Air Quality Index (AQI) moving from "severe" to the "very poor" category, but, the overall AQI was recorded at 339, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

The Anand Vihar station was in the "poor" category with PM 2.5 at 257 or "poor" and PM 10 at 137, or "moderate" category while the CO was at 45 and NO2 at 37, under "satisfactory" category on Friday evening, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The 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".

At the Bawana station, PM 2.5 was recorded at 217 or "poor" category and PM 10 at 159, in the "moderate" category, while the CO reached 42 and NO2 at 11, both in the "good" category.

At the Delhi Technical University (DTU) station, the PM 10 reached 126 under "moderate" category while PM 2.5 was at 83 under "satisfactory" category on Friday. The CO was recorded at 38 and NO2 was at 37, under the "good" category.

The air quality at the Indira Gandhi International Airport T3 area was in the "moderate" category with PM 2.5 at 171 and PM 10 at 120 while carbon monoxide (CO) reached 44 and NO2 at 21, in the "good" category.

The PM 2.5 at Jahangirpuri was recorded at 277, putting it in the "poor" category while PM 10 reached 148, placing it also under "moderate" category. The CO was recorded at 42, and NO2 at 8, both in the "good" category.

At Punjabi Bagh, the PM 2.5 reached 260, under "poor" category and PM 10 at 135, in the "moderate" category while the NO2 was at 35, or "good".

In Noida, Sector-125 station recorded PM 2.5 at 500, under "severe" category, and PM 10 was at 76, at "satisfactory" levels while NO2 was at 72, also in "satisfactory" category.

Gurugram’s Sector 51 station reported the PM 2.5 at 155 and PM 10 at 136, both in "moderate" category. The CO was also recorded at 104 and NO2 was at 108, both also in "moderate" category.