Air quality back to 'very poor' in Delhi-NCR

New Delhi, Dec 8 : A day after improving to "moderate", the air quality across Delhi-NCR dipped back to "very poor" on Friday, as wind speed dropped.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the national capital and areas around it received moist southerly winds on Friday with average speed of 7 to 8 kmph.

At 7 p.m, the level of major pollutant PM2.5 or particles in air with diameter less than 2.5mm, across 22 locations in Delhi-NCR was 126 or "very poor" against 87 or "moderate" on Thursday. The average PM2.5 in Delhi alone was recorded at 134 or "very poor" against 88 on Wednesday.

On Friday, the most polluted regions including Vasundhra in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Anand Vihar in east Delhi and Delhi Technical University (DTU) in north Delhi again saw a "very poor" air quality, against "poor to moderate" on Thursday.

The safe limit for PM2.5 according to International standards is 25 microgrammes per cubic meters and 60 as per national standards.

At 4 p.m., the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) however placed Delhi's air, as monitored by 15 different stations, to be "poor" with Air Quality Index (AQI) of 217, against 194 (moderate) on Thursday. 

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) however placed Delhi's air-quality as "moderate", with only three out of its ten monitoring stations across Delhi-NCR -- Delhi University and Pitampura in north Delhi and Mathura Road in south Delhi -- placed under "poor".

However, the SAFAR predicts the air quality to deteriorate to "poor" over next three days.