The air quality of the city continued to remain in the “very poor” category on Saturday. It is likely to improve but will be in the same range till Monday.
“Local surface winds also are low with moderate ventilation of near-surface pollutants. From 21st to 23rd, surface winds are likely to be strong resulting in effective dispersion that improves air quality,” Centre-run monitoring agency SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research) said in a statement.
On Saturday, the contribution of stubble burning in neighbouring states to PM2.5 — a chief air pollutant — in Delhi was negligible and the effective fire counts in the region came down to 752, as per SAFAR.
The effect of stubble burning is expected to further reduce over the next week, as per experts.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) was 374 on Saturday, as per the CPCB’s 4 p.m. bulletin., which is the average of the past 24 hours.
Delhi’s air quality entered the “severe” level for the first time this winter on November 5 with an AQI of 462. A higher value of AQI indicates more air pollution.
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’.
