Delhi AQI at 225 as Smog Blankets City

Delhi woke up to a layer of smog on Friday morning, with the city’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 225 at 9 am, placing it in the ‘poor’ category, according to official data. The Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) SAMEER app showed that 38 monitoring stations recorded poor air quality, while 18 stations reported moderate levels. Pusa recorded the highest AQI at 290, followed by RK Puram at 284 and Rohini at 279, with readings approaching the ‘very poor’ category.

The minimum temperature at Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, was recorded at 19 degrees Celsius, 1.8 degrees above normal. Palam recorded a minimum of 18.3 degrees Celsius, followed by Lodhi Road at 18.6 degrees, Ayanagar at 19.1 degrees and the Ridge at 19.2 degrees Celsius. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast mainly clear skies during the day, with the maximum temperature expected to reach around 32 degrees Celsius.

According to CPCB standards, an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as ‘good’, 51–100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 as ‘moderate’, 201–300 as ‘poor’, 301–400 as ‘very poor’ and 401–500 as ‘severe’.