Delhi NCR breathless as smog covers city; 'very poor' to 'severe' AQI levels recorded in several regions

'Very poor' to 'severe' AQI levels were recorded in most stations located in and around the national capital region, including the neighborhoods of Anand Vihar (443), Ashok Vihar (411), North Campus (415), IGI Airport (402) and Rohini (403) in the city, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). A number of flights were diverted or delayed on Wednesday morning due to the low visibility conditions in the national capital.

Typically, the quality of air deteriorates in the national capital and its adjoining areas around this time of the year.

Delhi Air Pollution News: Several northern regions in the country including the Delhi NCR woke up to a dense layer of fog on Wednesday, impacting visibility in and around the national capital and leaving disrupting railway and flight operations. As many as seven flights scheduled to take off from the national capital were impacted due to low visibility recorded in and around the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. This marks the season's first dense fog around the national capital. Typically, this time of the year is characterised by dense smog blanketing the NCR owing to a number of factors including stubble burning in the adjoining areas.

A number of flights were diverted or delayed on Wednesday morning due to the low visibility conditions in the national capital. The quality of air, gauged by the Air Quality Index (AQI), remained in the "very poor" category for about a fortnight while "severe" air quality was recorded in Anand Vihar and Aya Nagar, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

'Severe' Air Quality Index levels recorded in several parts of NCR

'Very poor' to 'severe' AQI levels were recorded in most stations located in and around the national capital region, including the neighborhoods of Anand Vihar (443), Ashok Vihar (411), North Campus (415), IGI Airport (402) and Rohini (403), showed data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Poor air quality in Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh

While the quality of air was recorded to be in the "poor" category in several regions spanning Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh remained in the "very poor" quality with AQI readings to the tune of 375.

Here are some readings from a few regions across the NCR, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh, as of 2 pm, Wednesday:

Station	AQI	Category
Anand Vihar, Delhi	443	Severe
North Campus, DU, Delhi	415	Severe
Ashok Vihar, Delhi	411	Severe
Siri Fort, Delhi	411	Severe
Rohini, Delhi	403	Severe
IGI Airport, Delhi	402	Severe
Mundka, Delhi	401	Severe
IHBAS, Dilshad Garden, Delhi	386	Very Poor
Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, Delhi	382	Very Poor
Sector 62, Noida, UP	382	Very Poor
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi	371	Very Poor
Jai Bheem Nagar, Meerut, UP	342	Very Poor
Sardar Patel Inter College, Baghpat, UP	335	Very Poor
Sector 116, Noida, UP	329	Very Poor
Murthal, Sonipat, Haryana	325	Very Poor
Lodhi Road, Delhi	313	Very Poor
Sector 51, Gurugram, Haryana	304	Very Poor
Anand Vihar, Hapur, UP	304	Very Poor
Kalindi Kunj, Khurja, UP	295	Poor
Sanjay Nagar, Ghaziabad, UP	292	Poor
Sector 1, Noida, UP	290	Poor
Yamunapuram, Bulandshahr, UP	280	Poor
Civil Lines, Jalandhar, Punjab	219	Poor
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab	219	Poor
Sector 30, Faridabad, Haryana	197	Moderate
Indra Nagar, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan	195	Moderate
General Hospital, Mandikhera, Haryana	184	Moderate
Shastri Nagar, Narnaul, Haryana	122	Moderate
Shyam Nagar, Palwal, Haryana	115	Moderate
(Source: airquality.cpcb.gov.in)

What do 'good', 'satisfactory', 'moderately polluted', 'poor', 'very poor' and 'severe' AQI categories indicate?

Here's a breakup of what the AQI readings tell about quality of air:

0-50 - Good
51-100 - Satisfactory
101-200 - Moderate
201-300 - Poor
301-400 - Very Poor
401-500 - Severe

The Air Quality Index captures changes in the quality of air in a particular region over a given period factoring in several factors including the concentration of pollutants and their likely impacts on health.

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