Rain, gusty winds bring respite from pollution in Delhi-NCR, temperature dips

Delhi's air quality index improved to 300 at 9 am, which falls in the poor category, from 467 around the same time on Sunday.

New Delhi: Light rain and favourable wind speed brought pollution levels down significantly in Delhi and its suburbs on Monday, while weather experts said the air quality is likely to improve further.

The city's air quality index (AQI) improved to 300 at 9 am, which falls in the poor category, from 467 around the same time on Sunday.

The neighbouring cities of Faridabad (256), Ghaziabad (292), Greater Noida (302), Gurgaon (314) and Noida (312) recorded their AQI in 'poor' and 'very poor' categories after braving 'severe' air quality on Saturday and Sunday.

Delhi had recorded the worst pollution levels on Diwali in the last four years due to the combined effect of stubble burning, firecrackers and unfavourable meteorological conditions.

The air quality on the day after Diwali was also the poorest since 2016.

The city recorded an overall AQI of 414 on Saturday (Diwali).

On Sunday, the 24-hour average AQI stood at 435.

In a special report, the Central Pollution Control Board said that almost all pollutants reported higher values on Diwali day this year as compared to 2019.

It could be attributed to bursting of firecrackers, higher share of stubble burning and unfavourable meteorology during the festival season, the CPCB said.

However, rain and high-velocity winds came to Delhi's rescue this year.

A weather department official said Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh also witnessed light rains and thunderstorms.

A day after Diwali, the air quality in Delhi remained in the “severe” category on Sunday, as bursting of firecrackers worsened the situation, data from the Central Pollution Control Board showed.