Delhi Air Pollution: Slight Relief As AQI Moves From 'Very Poor' To 'Poor'; Cloud Seeding Trials Deferred

Delhi Air Pollution: Delhi’s air quality witnessed a slight improvement on Friday morning as the national capital recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 278 at 8 am in the 'poor' category, according to the data by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). On Thursday, Delhi recorded overall AQI levels of 373.

At 8 am on Friday, monitoring stations at Anand Vihar recorded AQI of 293 in the 'poor' category while Bawana saw a reading of 356 in the 'very poor' category. Burari Crossing recorded an AQI of 262, again in 'poor' category while Chandni Chowk stood at AQI 198 in the moderate' category.

ALSO READ: IND-W vs AUS-W Semifinal: Jemimah’s Unbeaten 127 Fuels India’s Historic Chase To World Cup Final

The national capital witnessed thick smog on Thursday with AQI turning 'severe' in certain places. Visibility was impacted in the early hours in areas including Kartavya Path, Anand Vihar, Burari and Akshardham.

Data from CPCB shows that from October 1 to October 30, four days were classified as "satisfactory," nine as "moderate," nine as "poor," and eight as "very poor." The average AQI for the month was 224, the second highest since 2021.

ALSO READ: ICC Women's World Cup 2025: List Of Records Made And Broken During IND-W vs AUS-W Semifinal In Navi Mumbai

Delhi’s Cloud Seeding Attempt

Following the failure of two cloud seeding trials, Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur, on Wednesday said that the next trial in Delhi will be attempted only when moisture levels in clouds reach 40 to 50 per cent. Earlier today, the Delhi government had paused the exercise citing “low moisture” levels in clouds.

Agarwal further stated that such high moisture levels are not expected tomorrow, October 30, but expressed optimism that they may occur within the next three to four days.

Speaking to news agency ANI, he said, “We are hoping for a cloud cover over the next 4-5 days, and we have kept the aircraft ready in Meerut so that at short notice we can fly. Generally, it will be in the East and North parts of Delhi only. We cannot go West or South because of the airport, and we can't go to the Central area because of the VIP area.”