All of us are aware of the hazardous air quality of New Delhi. It makes the news every now and then and even the people outside of Delhi are aware of just how bad the condition of the capital can be. But, today unironically we have great news because we’ve measured a lowered AQI in New Delhi.
What’s AQI
Air Quality Index(AQI) is a metric used to measure Air Quality. AQI displays the changes in air pollution in the atmosphere. It keeps tabs on 8 major air pollutants in the atmosphere, these are:-
- Particulate Matter (PM10)
- Particulate Matter (PM2.5)
- Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
- Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)
- Carbon Monoxide (CO)
- Ozone (O3)
- Ammonia (NH3)
- Lead (Pb)
National Air Quality Index was launched in 2014 to measure air quality in terms of six categories namely, Good, Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe. The states/cities are categorized in the range of 0-500 to measure their air quality. The categories include:-
- 0-50 Good
- 51-100 Satisfactory
- 101-200 Moderate
- 201-300 Poor
- 301-400 Very Poor
- 401-500 Severe
We normally see the AQI of New Delhi running from poor to severe, but today we’ve recorded an AQI of 199 which keenly ranks in the moderate category. If it’s an actual improvement that is going to last then it’s going to be a good sign for the Delhiites.
