Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) A day after Diwali celebrations filled the sky with firecrackers and festive smoke, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Tuesday reported a dangerous deterioration in air quality across north India.
According to the latest Air Quality Index (AQI) bulletin, air quality levels have been recorded as “severe” and “very poor” in several cities of Haryana and the National Capital Region (NCR).
Jind tops the national chart with 421 AQI, followed by Dharuhera (412), Narnaul (390), and Rohtak (376) – all of which fall in the severe category, which severely affects even healthy individuals. Other highly polluted cities include Bahadurgarh (368), Sirsa (353), Charkhi Dadri (353), Gurugram (370), and national capital Delhi (351), all in the very poor category.
The data shows that particulate matter PM2.5 remains the dominant pollutant in all these areas, causing air quality to reach hazardous levels.
Neighboring cities like Ghaziabad (324), Noida (320), Manesar (320), and Hapur (314) also recorded “very poor” air quality, indicating the toxic smog engulfing the NCR.
Health experts warn that exposure to such conditions can lead to respiratory illness, especially in children, the elderly and people with asthma or heart disease.
In contrast, southern cities like Bengaluru (97), Chennai (142), and Hyderabad (116) recorded air quality from “satisfactory” to “moderate”, while coastal and northeastern cities like Mysore (41), Gangtok (34), and Shillong (17) recorded “good” conditions.
Earlier in the morning, a day after Diwali celebrations, the overall air quality index (AQI) in Delhi-NCR remained in the ‘very poor’ category, touching 400, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
While the overall AQI stood at 347, levels in many areas were recorded in the ‘severe’ category.
As per CPCB classification, AQI between 0-50 is categorized as ‘good’, 51-100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 as ‘moderate’, 201-300 as ‘poor’, 301-400 as ‘very poor’ and 401-500 as ‘severe’.
Several areas in Delhi recorded hazardous AQI levels: Narela (354), Najafgarh (334), Mundka (357), Mandir Marg (325), Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium (358), Lodhi Road (334), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (317), Jahangirpuri (404), ITO (345), Dilshad SAMEER app developed by CPCB. According to the data, Garden (346), Dwarka Sector 8 (333), Mathura Road (341), Bawana (418), and Anand Vihar (352).
–IANS
sas/and