Delhi: Pollution levels likely to drop, air quality still 'very poor'

Pollution levels in the national capital are expected to drop on Tuesday due to an increase in wind speed even as air quality remained in the 'very poor' category in the morning. According to the Meteorological (MeT) department, there is a possibility of strong winds in the next 24 hours. At 9.44 am, Delhi's air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 365. The AQI at Vivek Vihar, Anand Vihar and ITO were registered at 410, 395 and 382 respectively. On Monday, the city's average AQI stood at 370 at 8.30 pm due to a slight increase in wind. An AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'. An AQI above 500 falls in the 'severe plus' category.

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In the National Capital Region (NCR), AQI in Noida was registered at 388, followed by Ghaziabad (378), Faridabad (363) and Gurgaon (361). The Delhi government had on Friday directed closure of schools till November 5 and banned construction activities after the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority declared a public health emergency as air quality plummeted. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature recorded in Delhi was 17.5 degree Celsius, three notches above the season's average. According to the MeT department, the humidity level recorded was 74 per cent. An official said that skies will be partly cloudy later in the day.

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