Delhi AQI Update: After Brief Improvement, City's Air Quality Slips Back To 'Very Poor'

Nehru Nagar recorded the highest AQI at 361, followed by Anand Vihar (351), Pusa (348), Chandni Chowk (347) and Jahangirpuri (346).

Delhi's air quality worsened on Wednesday morning, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) touching 302 at 7.05 am, placing it in the "very poor" category, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) Sameer app. A day earlier, on Tuesday, the city's AQI stood at 293, which falls in the "poor" category.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at 7.05 am on Wednesday, several parts of Delhi continued to reel under "very poor" air quality. Nehru Nagar recorded the highest AQI at 361, followed by Anand Vihar (351), Pusa (348), Chandni Chowk (347) and Jahangirpuri (346).

Other areas in the "very poor" category included Sirifort and Okhla Phase-2 (345 each), Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range (342), R K Puram (341), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (339), Vivek Vihar (335), Patparganj and Mundka (334 each), Dwarka Sector-8 (334), Punjabi Bagh and Wazirpur (327 each), Rohini (323), Sonia Vihar (320), Ashok Vihar (319), Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium (312), Sri Aurobindo Marg and IHBAS, Dilshad Garden (310 each), and DTU (303).

Air quality in several parts of the city remained in the "poor" category. These included Narela (298), ITO (296), North Campus, Delhi University (286), Alipur (284), Najafgarh (281), IIT Delhi (275), Burari Crossing (273), Mandir Marg (265), Lodhi Road (255), Aya Nagar (244), CRRI Mathura Road (239) and NSIT Dwarka (234).

Relatively better air quality was recorded in Bawana (191) and Shadipur (165), both of which fell in the "moderate" category.

As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 satisfactory, 101 to 200 moderate, 201 to 300 poor, 301 to 400 very poor, and 401 to 500 severe.

IMD Issues Cold Wave Warnings For North India

Meanwhile, cold is set to intensify in North India. The IMD has forecast that over the next two days, minimum temperatures in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi could drop by 2 to 3°C.

Cold wave conditions are likely to persist in several parts of the country in the coming days. The weather office has also issued dense fog warnings for Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh from January 7 to 9, while parts of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, eastern Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand may see fog during this period.

In the Delhi-NCR region, light fog is expected in most areas in the mornings, with some locations experiencing dense fog.