Delhi’s air quality improved sharply to the “moderate” category on Thursday for the first time in two months, as winds helped pollutants disperse. The air quality index had stayed “very poor” every day since November 23 and either “poor” or “very poor” since early October.
The air quality is expected to improve further in the coming days, with rain likely on December 11 and 12, The Times of India reported.
The city’s 24-hour average air quality index was 194 at 4 pm on Thursday, a significant improvement from Wednesday’s 282, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. This was better than some other north Indian cities, such as Agra (218 – poor), Gaya (322 – very poor), Faridabad (222 – poor) and Lucknow (303 – very poor).
An air quality index in the range of 101 to 200 is considered moderate, 201 to 300 is poor, 301 to 400 is very poor and 401 to 500 is classified as severe.
“Air quality is improving every hour, and we hope it will continue to improve,” Dipankar Saha of the Central Pollution Control Board said on Wednesday. “Now, the wind is blowing very easily from north to south with a speed of 4.5 metres per second, which has resulted in dispersion of pollutants, leading to improvement in the air quality after long.”
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