Rain, less stubble fires & wind reduce Delhi AQI

New Delhi, Nov 16 : Day after Diwali a surprise shower, cool surface wind and relatively less stubble burning activity in the vicinity of the national capital brought down Delhi’s air quality index from 525 to 273 within 24 hours.
Delhiites relaxed a bit as they could comparatively breathe better on Monday after consistently battling the severe level of air quality which persisted over a week.
The Central Pollution Control Board of India recorded a significant improvement of the ambient air quality from 525 on Sunday to 273 on Monday.
As per the Ministry of Earth Science officials, surface winds which are blowing in northeasterly direction (not favourable for stubble-burning smog from entering Delhi), besides scattered rainfall in Delhi and surrounding region have washed out some of the pollutants, bringing down the AQI reading.
The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) recorded the overall AQI of the national capital at 319. The CPCB notified the overall air quality of Delhi in the upper end of “Poor” category while the SAFAR monitored it in the lower end of the “Very Poor category”.
An AQI between 0-50 is marked “good”, 51-100 is “satisfactory”, 101- 200 is “moderate”, 201- 300 is “poor”, 301-400 is “very poor” and 401-500 is considered “severe”. The AQI beyond 500 is termed as an emergency situation and calls for equivalent measures.