Delhi: AQI at 364, residents face difficulty in breathing

New Delhi, November 3: A thin layer of smog engulfed parts of the national capital on Sunday, and the Air Quality Index (AQI) continues to be in the ‘very poor’ category. Most areas in the capital recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) over 350, raising health concerns for residents.

The AQI of Delhi was recorded at 364 at 7 AM on Sunday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

At around 7.00 AM on Sunday, New Moti Bagh recorded an AQI of 352, RK Puram at 380, Vivek Vihar at 388, Dwarka Sector 8 at 385, and Lodhi Road at 330. All these areas reported ‘very poor’ air quality levels, posing significant health risks.

The AQI in Nehru Nagar and Anand Vihar in the national capital remained in ‘Severe” category on Sunday, with 431 and 427 AQI recorded at 7.00 AM. In Burari, the AQI in the area stands at 385, categorised as ‘Very Poor’, as per the CPCB.

An AQI is considered as “poor” between ‘200 and 300’, “very poor” at ‘301 and 400’, “severe” at ‘401-450″ and 450 and above, is “severe plus.”.

Aditya, a resident of Delhi, said, ” It is very difficult to breathe…. this is not a time we can go out and do exercise; pollution is affecting our eyes.”

Meanwhile, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that around 200 mobile anti-smog guns will be deployed across the national capital to combat dust pollution.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Gopal Rai said that the Delhi government is continuously working on the ground to combat the rising pollution levels.

He further said that to address dust pollution, the Delhi government will deploy 200 mobile anti-smog guns throughout the city, which will operate in three shifts of eight hours each, spraying water in every assembly constituency to help control dust levels.

“Whether it is dust pollution, vehicle pollution or biomass burning, our teams are continuously working on targeting these three on the ground,” he said.

As per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) data, the AQI was recorded at 296 at 7 am on Saturday in Delhi.

In Anand Vihar, the AQI was recorded at a very poor category of 380 at 7 am; in ITO, it was 253 (poor) at 6 am; in RK Puram, it was 346 (very poor) at 6 am; in IGI Airport T3 it was 342 (very poor) at 6 am; and in Dwarka Sector 8 the AQI was 308 (very poor) at 7 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

In Mumbai, a thick layer of smog engulfed near Marine Drive as AQI stands at 208, categorised as ‘Poor’ category.