Despite a sudden spell of rain in Delhi-NCR providing temporary relief from the summer heat, air quality levels stayed mostly in the ‘Poor’ category on Saturday, with a few areas showing ‘Moderate’ conditions, as per official data.
The rain, along with cloudy and hazy skies, briefly eased the high temperatures but did not bring significant improvement to pollution levels in the region.
The weather change was due to a Western Disturbance, a meteorological event that typically brings unseasonal rainfall to northern India during the winter and pre-summer months.
Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) revealed varying Air Quality Index (AQI) readings at monitoring stations in Delhi, with some areas like Anand Vihar, Wazirpur, and Mundka recording high AQI levels in the ‘Poor’ category.
Several locations, including Ashok Vihar, Bawana, DTU, IIT Delhi, and Dwarka Sector-8, reported ‘Moderate’ AQI levels, while areas like Sonia Vihar and JNU showed relatively better air quality, though still above the ‘Satisfactory’ range.
Earlier, on April 16, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) activated Stage-I of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) as Delhi’s average AQI crossed into the ‘Poor’ category, initiating measures to address air pollution in the region.
The AQI scale ranges from 0 to 500, with different categories indicating varying health impacts, from ‘Good’ and ‘Satisfactory’ to ‘Poor’, ‘Very Poor’, and ‘Severe’, with each level posing different risks to public health.
