Delhi’s Air Turns “Hazardous” as AQI Touches 494; Opposition Alleges Data Manipulation

New Delhi: Delhi’s air quality worsened to hazardous levels on Friday morning, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 494 at 7.31 am, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data reported by ANI. Dense fog and smog cut visibility across the capital.

An earlier reading put the citywide AQI at 402 at 5 am. By the morning snapshot, 33 of 58 monitoring stations were in the severe category, which the CPCB defines as 401 to 500. IIT Delhi recorded 488, followed by ITO at 455, Anand Vihar at 419, Rohini at 413 and Rajokri Border at 402. Delhi University’s North Campus recorded about 476. Other areas were in the very poor range, including RK Puram at 391, Mandir Marg at 378, Dwarka Expressway at 369, Uttam Nagar at 363 and Lodhi Road at 341, while the Dhaula Kuan area, at 161, was moderate. Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Noida also reported poor air.

Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan was invoked across Delhi-NCR on November 6, three days before Diwali. The Delhi government said it was deploying water sprinklers across the city to reduce particulate matter.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged data manipulation in the city’s pollution figures, citing a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The report found 255 missing hourly records for PM2.5 across Delhi’s 59 stations between 4 pm on November 8 and 4 pm on November 9, and said the 24-hour average rose from 269 to 400 micrograms per cubic metre, a jump of about 49 per cent, when the gaps were accounted for. Bharadwaj called it a fraud against the city’s 2 crore residents. The CPCB said earlier this week that readings beyond the instruments’ calibrated range are excluded from AQI calculations, which can appear as data gaps, and that it is reviewing its methodology.