Delhi's Air Quality Again Extremely Poor, AQI Reaches 440

New Delhi, December 18 : The pollution levels in the national capital, Delhi-NCR, have once again reached the severe category. The situation has been worsened by fog. This morning, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 440. In some areas, the AQI has surpassed 450. This has led to breathing difficulties, eye irritation, and throat discomfort among the people. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for fog in Delhi-NCR for the next three days.

On Monday, the AQI was recorded at 379. By Tuesday, it had increased to 433. Due to the worsening pollution situation, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) imposed restrictions under GRAP-3 on Monday. Later in the night, GRAP-4 restrictions were also imposed. Under this, the monitoring of vehicles entering Delhi's borders was intensified. Additionally, under GRAP-4, schools in Delhi-NCR up to 9th and 11th grade will now operate in hybrid mode, i.e., both online and offline. The decision for 10th and 12th grades will be made by individual schools. Under GRAP-3, hybrid mode had already been implemented for schools up to 5th grade.

The AQI levels in major areas of Delhi remained alarming. In Anand Vihar, it was 481, in Ashok Vihar 461, Lodhi Road 417, New Delhi 453, Burari Crossing 483. In Alipur, it was 443, in Jahangirpuri 469, and in Mundka 473.

Neighboring areas in NCR also faced poor air quality. In Faridabad (Haryana), the AQI was 263, in Gurgaon 392, and in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) 390, Greater Noida 330, and Noida 364. It is important to note that an AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401-500 is severe.