City air set to worsen to ‘poor’ for first time this season

NEW DELHI: Brace for polluted days ahead as Delhi’s air quality is predicted to deteriorate to the ‘poor’ category for the first time this season by Monday.

Though the city’s air quality index (AQI) Sunday was recorded at 187 — at the higher end of the ‘moderate’ bracket — the air was ‘poor’ at 22 locations.

ITO, which returned a reading of 430 (‘severe’), was the most polluted location in Delhi. Then came Vivek Vihar (264), RK Puram and Jahangirpuri (both 262).

The city recorded exactly the same AQI of 187 on Oct 4. A higher reading than this — 246 (‘poor’) — was last taken on July 24 when dust travelled from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan towards north-west India, including Delhi.

This Friday, the city’s air quality improved to 90 (‘satisfactory’) following a spell of rain. However, it started worsening after the showers stopped, with AQI touching 159 Saturday. With winds expected to slow down, the index is expected to rise.