Delhi's Air Quality Reaches 'Hazardous' Levels With AQI Over 400; Thick Smog Envelops Noida, Ghaziabad After Diwali

Anand Vihar, notorious for its highly polluted air, touched the 685 mark at 5 AM before witnessing a relief and coming down to 456 at 7 am, as per the latest CPCB data. Areas surrounding Major Dhyanchand, Parpatganj, RK Puram, Pusa, and ITI Shahdra also witnessed AQI levels of over 400, painting a gloomy picture of air quality.

Firecrackers Launched Despite Ban

With no proper oversight over the Delhi government's firecrackers ban in Delhi, residents flouted the guidelines and burst them in large numbers since Thursday evening. The use of green crackers was not witnessed, as the authorities urged. With air quality dipping to 'hazardous' in some regions, patients with breathing difficulties and other lung-related ailments are advised not to walk out of closed spaces unnecessarily.

Noida, Ghaziabad Reel Under 'Poisonous' Smog

Vasundhara, a locality of Ghaziabad witnessed an AQI reaching 999 in the wee hours of Friday, before coming down to 330. Sanjay Nagar was engulfed in a thick layer of smog early morning with AQI touching the 330 mark to remain in the 'hazardous' mark.

Noida residents also found themselves struggling with the swindling air quality with areas such as sector 62, 116 and 125 touching the 'severe' mark on the AQI scale a day after the residents celebrated Diwali.

AQI Scale in India and health warnings

There are six AQI categories, namely Good, Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe. The AQI will consider eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb) for which short-term (up to 24-hour averaging period) National Ambient Air Quality Standards are prescribed.

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