Delhi air quality improves to 'moderate' category, AQI stands at 176
Delhi Air Quality: The air quality of Delhi improved further on Wednesday to fall under the "moderate" category. The capital's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 176 on Wednesday morning. This was a vast improvement from the previous day's AQI of 227, whereas, it was 294 on Monday and 303 on Sunday.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the air quality is likely to improve further on the back of strong winds.
The Commission for Air Quality Management had ordered authorities to immediately revoke the curbs implemented in Delhi-NCR under stage three of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in light of the improvement in air quality on Monday.
The restriction under stage 3 included a ban on construction and demolition activities, barring essential projects.
Meanwhile, data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) showed that there were 141 farm fires reported in Punjab on Tuesday, compared to only four on Monday. However, the state reported 2,467 instances of stubble burning on Saturday, November 12.
Earlier, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) had predicted that the air quality in Delhi-NCR was expected to improve starting on November 14 due to a decrease in surface wind speed and a portion of stubble smoke coming from the northwest.
Notably, an AQI between 201 and 300 is considered 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.
(With inputs from agencies)
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