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After Delhi saw a ‘good’ air day on September 16, the air quality index (AQI) has deteriorated. The AQI is likely to remain in the ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ category on Tuesday, and is likely to deteriorate to be in the ‘poor’ category on Wednesday, according to a forecast issued by the Air Quality Early Warning System on Monday.
It attributes the deterioration in air quality to calm winds during the night and morning hours, which are unfavourable for the “effective dispersion of pollutants”.
The 24-hour average AQI, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s 4 pm bulletin, was 182 on Monday, pushing the air quality under the ‘moderate’ category.
The index between 101 and 200 is considered to be ‘moderate’. The AQI in the ‘good’ range (up to 50) has minimal impact on health, while that in the ‘moderate’ range can cause breathing discomfort to people with asthma or lung and heart diseases.
With intermittent rainfall and strong winds helping with the dispersion of pollutants, the AQI was 47, in the ‘good’ category on September 16. This was the city’s first such good air day this year. The air quality was in the ‘satisfactory’ category, with an AQI of 70 on September 17, while that on September 18 and 19 was in the ‘moderate’ category.
The AQI at some monitoring stations was worse than others. At Anand Vihar, which is one of the 13 air pollution ‘hotspots’ identified in Delhi, the 24-hour average AQI at 9 am on Tuesday was 406, in the ‘severe’ category, with PM10 being the prominent pollutant. The AQI at other hotspots, including RK Puram, Bawana and Narela, was in the ‘moderate’ category.
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