Delhi's air quality inched towards the poor category on Monday, just three days after the city recorded its first good air quality day this year. The capital recorded a 24-hour average air quality index of 182 at 4 pm on Monday. It was 119 on Sunday, 70 on Saturday and 47 on Friday. With an AQI of 405 (severe), Anand Vihar was the most-polluted place in the capital.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president (climate change and meteorology), Skymet Weather, said a confluence of easterly and westerly winds did not let local pollutants disperse. Calm winds allowed accumulation of pollutants in the morning.
According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi-NCR, the air quality is likely to remain in "moderate to poor" categories on Tuesday and in the poor category on Wednesday.
Calm winds are likely to prevail during night and morning hours which is unfavourable for effective dispersion of pollutants.
According to the Decision Support System of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the transport sector accounted for 14 to 22 per cent of the PM2.5 pollution in Delhi on Monday. It is likely to increase to 33 per cent by Wednesday.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.
A sustained spell of light rain in the capital had yielded the first "good" air quality day of the year on Friday.
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