Delhi’s Air Pollution Levels and Government Measures

• Delhi’s air quality improved to’very poor’ after a week in’severe’ and’severe plus’ zones.

• The city’s air quality is expected to remain the same for the next six days.

• The pollution levels were several times higher than the WHO’s threshold.

• The city was ranked the second most polluted city in the country after Bihar’s Hajipur.

• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) found the level of PM2.5 in the city to be 162.1 micrograms per cubic metre of air, over 10 times the WHO’s permissible limit of 15 micrograms per cubic metre.

• The city’s overall 24-hour average AQI was 371 (‘very poor’) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, down from 419 (‘severe’) a day earlier.

• The contribution of farm fires in the neighbouring States to PM2.5 in Delhi on November 19 was 22.1%.

• The Centre announced staggered working hours for its employees, advising them to use carpooling and public transport to minimise vehicular pollution.

• The city experienced a drop in temperatures, with the season’s coldest night recorded on Thursday at 10.2 degrees Celsius.