The air quality of Delhi, Gurugram, and Noida continued to be in the ‘severe’ category on Monday morning, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
Severe air pollution levels affects ‘healthy people’ and ‘seriously impacts’ those with existing diseases, as per the CPCB.
Several other cities of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, including Agra, Bulandshahr, Bhiwani and Bahadurgarh, also had ‘severe’ category air pollution, the data showed.
The capital’s air quality is expected to remain in the same category on Monday and Tuesday and no quick recovery is expected unless there is a ‘drastic reduction’ in stubble burning fire counts in neighbouring States, as per government-run monitoring agency System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi at 9 a.m. on Monday was 469 and the values for Gurugram and Noida were 480 and 477 respectively, according to the CPCB.
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’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
The AQI of Delhi, Noida, and Gurugram was in the ‘severe’ category on Sunday too.
