Delhi's Air Quality Crisis: 22 Stations Hit 'Severe' AQI, Worst Affected Areas Revealed
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Delhi's air quality continued to deteriorate on Sunday morning, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 391 in the 'very poor' category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 22 monitoring stations reported 'severe' air quality, while 12 stations recorded 'very poor' air quality with readings above 300. The poor air quality has persisted since Diwali, with the AQI hovering in the 'poor' and 'very poor' ranges across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). Despite Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) being in effect, authorities have yet to implement stricter measures under GRAP Stage III. The monitoring station at NSIT Dwarka recorded the best AQI at 198, the only location in Delhi to report an Air Quality Index below 200. Other relatively better readings were reported from IHBAS (263), Dilshad Garden (263), and Lodhi Road (307). The worst AQI in Delhi was reported from Bawana (438), followed by Jahangirpuri (436), Rohini (435), Wazirpur (430), Mundka (428), and Burari Crossing (428). Other areas in the 'severe' category included Nehru Nagar (425), Patparganj (424), RK Puram (423), Vivek Vihar (423), ITO (421), Narela (418), and CRRI Mathura Road (416). In several localities, the AQI remained well above 400, including Punjabi Bagh (415), Ashok Vihar (415), Sonia Vihar (415), Alipur (414), Anand Vihar (410), Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range (406), Chandni Chowk (405), Okhla Phase-2 (404), and Sirifort (403). The complete list of AQI readings from worst to best is as follows: Areas with 'very poor' air quality included North Campus (399), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (391), Mandir Marg (390), Dwarka Sector-8 (388), Pusa (380), Lodhi Road (IMD) (376), Sri Aurobindo Marg (371), Aya Nagar (366), Shadipur (359), Najafgarh (357), and IGI Airport (360). In neighboring Noida and Ghaziabad, air quality worsened in October, with Noida recording its poorest air quality in five years, averaging 236. Ghaziabad also showed a similar trend, averaging 227, higher than its past four-year range of 194 to 224.
