Delhi sees brief pollution relief as AQI drops to 220

Delhi witnessed a brief respite from elevated pollution levels on Thursday morning, with the air quality index (AQI) improving to 220, placing it in the ‘poor’category.According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer app, air quality at 29 monitoring stations across the capital remained in the ‘poor’ category. Anand Vihar continued to be a hotspot, recording an AQI of 308 in the ‘very poor’ category, while most other stations reported air quality in the ‘moderate’ range.As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 201 and 300 is classified as ‘poor’, while readings above 400 fall in the ‘severe’ category. The capital’s 24-hour average AQI on Wednesday also remained in the ‘poor’ category, marking a significant improvement from Tuesday, when pollution levels spiked to a ‘severe’ 412 at 4 pm.
The CPCB attributed the temporary improvement to favourable meteorological conditions, particularly surface wind speeds ranging between 15 and 25 km per hour, which aided dispersion of pollutants.However, officials cautioned that the relief may be short-lived, with air quality likely to deteriorate again over the next few days.On the weather front, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 6.5 degrees Celsius, one degree below the seasonal average, with relative humidity at 63 per cent. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 22 degrees Celsius, while moderate winds are forecast during the day.