Delhi Air Quality Deteriorates To 'Very Poor' Category; Toxic Foam Surfaces In Yamuna River In National Capital

A thin layer of smog blanketed Delhi on Thursday (23 October) as national capital's air quality worsened, pushing it into the 'very poor' category.

Thursday is the third consecutive day that AQI was recorded above 300 (very poor) in the national capital.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, as of 7.00 am Thursday, Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 392, Ashok Vihar (350), IGI airport T3 (334), ITO Delhi (324), RK Puram (359), Okhla Phase-2 (322), Ashok Vihar (350), and Dwaraka-Sector 8 (348), all falling in the very poor category.

AQI levels range from 0-50 are considered as good, 51-100 as satisfactory, 101-200 as moderate, 201-300 as poor, 301-400 as very poor, and 401-500 as severe.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted that Thursday's maximum temperature will reach 33 degrees Celsius, with a minimum of 19 degrees Celsius.

On Wednesday, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai wrote to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, requesting a meeting with all stakeholders to address the rising air pollution in the national capital.

Earlier on Monday, restrictions under the second stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) were imposed.

Due to the unfavourable meteorological and climatic conditions, the AQI is likely to remain very poor in the coming days. 

Meanwhile, the effect of air pollution was seen on River Yamuna as white toxic foam was seen floating on the river in the Kalindi Kunj area on Thursday morning.

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