Delhi's air quality continues to remain in 'poor' category with AQI of 266

NEW DELHI: The overall air quality in the national capital on Sunday morning was recorded in the 'poor category', with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 266 against 173 recorded on Saturday.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the air quality in Kartavya Path at India Gate was recorded at 266, IGI Terminal T3 in New Delhi at 276. Meanwhile, Noida recorded an AQI of 290 (poor) and Gurugram 152 (moderate). Anand Vihar breached the very poor category in New Delhi with an AQI of 345, IT0 with an AQI of 309, New Moti Bagh with an AQI of 360, Dwarkar Sector-8 recorded an AQI of 313.

The air quality in the national capital on Friday morning was recorded in the 'moderate' category with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 149. The overall AQI has increased from 83 on Wednesday to 117 on Thursday.

The Air Quality Index is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms that are easy to understand. There are six AQI categories, namely Good + Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe.

Each of these categories is decided based on the ambient concentration values of air pollutants and their likely health impacts (known as health breakpoints). According to the AQI scale, the air quality check between 0 and 50 is "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 450 "severe".