After rain, Delhi’s air quality improves but stays in “poor” category

At 7 a.m. on Saturday, Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was 213 (poor), which is an improvement over Friday’s reading of 279 (poor) at 4 p.m.

Even though it was still considered “poor,” Delhi’s air quality improved on Saturday despite a day of light rain and strong winds that helped to lower the pollution levels.

According to officials, strong winds are predicted to continue throughout the national capital on Saturday, with gusts of up to 18 km/h. This should contribute to the AQI’s continued improvement. They noted that even though a slight decrease in wind speed is anticipated on Diwali day (Sunday), it should still be between 8 and 10 km/h.

“We saw the impact of the western disturbance, which is influencing northwest India, on Friday. This is what led to this rain spell and from Saturday onwards, moisture in the air will reduce and the air will become colder and drier,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.

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The hourly PM 2.5 concentration data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CBCP) on Friday indicated that the reading had improved to as low as 37 micrograms per cubic meter at 6am, well within the 60 micrograms per cubic meter national standard.

In contrast, on November 5, at 12 p.m., the same PM 2.5 levels peaked at 488 micrograms per cubic meter, marking the fourth day in a row that Delhi’s air quality was classified as “severe.”