New Delhi Nov 24 PTI Delhis air quality slipped into the very poor category on Wednesday as low temperatures and slow surface winds allowed the accumulation of pollutantsThe citys 24-hour average air quality index AQI was 361According to India Meteorological Department Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 92 degrees Celsius this seasons lowest so far The maximum temperature settled at 288 degrees Celsius Strong winds on Sunday and Monday had led to an improvement in the air qualityThe 24-hour average AQI read 290 on Tuesdaythe second-best AQI reading this month since November 1 when it was 281 Delhi has seen very poor or severe air quality on the rest of the daysNeighbouring Faridabad 367 Ghaziabad 366 Greater Noida 312 Gurgaon 305 and Noida 325 also saw a dip in air quality on WednesdayAn AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severeThe Ministry of Earth Sciences air quality monitor SAFAR said slow local surface winds will reduce dispersion of pollutants over the next three days leading to deterioration in air qualityA slight improvement is likely from November 27 with an increase in local surface wind speedWith the onset of winter local weather is likely to be the dominating factor in determining air quality SAFAR saidEven as the air quality turned very poor again the Delhi government on Wednesday decided to resume physical classes in schools colleges and other educational institutions and reopen government offices from November 29The ban on the entry of trucks barring those engaged in essential services will continue till December 3 However CNG and electric trucks will be allowed to enter Delhi from November 27 Environment Minister Gopal Rai said after a meeting to review curbs to tackle air pollutionOn November 13 the city government had ordered the closure of all educational institutes banned construction and demolition activities and asked its employees to work from home to combat air pollution and minimise its health effectsFour days later it extended the restrictions besides banning the entry of trucks carrying non-essential items in Delhi The ban on construction and demolition activities was lifted on Monday in view of an improvement in the air quality and inconvenience caused to workers PTI GVS NSD

New Delhi Nov 24 PTI Delhis air quality slipped into the very poor category on Wednesday morning as low temperatures and slow surface winds allowed accumulation of pollutantsThe citys air quality index AQI read 357 at 9 amAccording to the India Meteorological Department Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 92 degrees Celsius the lowest this season so far The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 27 degrees Celsius Strong winds on Sunday and Monday had led to an improvement in the air quality The 24-hour average AQI read 290 on Tuesdaythe second best AQI reading this month since November 1 281Delhi has seenvery poor or severe air quality on the rest of the daysNeighbouring Faridabad 348 Ghaziabad 346 Greater Noida 329 Gurgaon 308 and Noida 320 also saw a dip in the air quality on Wednesday morningAn AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severeThe Delhi government will take a call on the reopening of schools colleges and other educational institutions and work-from-home for its employees during a review meeting on WednesdayIt will also discuss if CNG-operated trucks carrying non-essential items can be allowed to enter DelhiThe government had on Monday lifted the ban on construction and demolition activities in view of improvement in the air quality and the inconvenience caused to workersThe city government had on Sunday night extended work-from-home for its employees and the ban on the entry of trucks carrying non-essential items till November 26 to combat air pollution and minimise its health effects PTI GVS DV DV

New Delhi Nov 21 PTI Delhis air quality remained very poor on Sunday morning and strong surface winds are likely to bring some relief from high pollution levels during the day authorities said The city recorded its air quality index AQI at 382 at 9 am The 24-hour average AQI was 374 on Saturday Neighboring Faridabad 347 Ghaziabad 344 Greater Noida 322 Gurgaon 345 and Noida 356 also recorded their air quality in the very poor category From November 21 to November 23 surface winds are likely to be strong resulting in effective dispersion that improves air quality said the Ministry of Earth Sciences air quality monitor SAFAR Transport-level winds coming from northwest direction are also likely to be strong during the period and will flush out locally emitted pollutants from Delhi to the southeast region that is expected to improve air quality further it said According to the India Meteorological Department the city recorded a minimum temperature of 98 degrees Celsius three notches below normal The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 27 degrees Celsius Strong surface winds gusting up to 30 kilometers per hour are likely on Monday it said To combat pollution the Delhi government had on Wednesday issued 10 directions including a ban on the entry of trucks carrying non-essential items in the city and closure of schools and colleges till further orders The Delhi government had banned construction and demolition activities in the city till November 21 It had also ordered its employees to work from home till Sunday Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said 1000 private CNG buses will be hired to strengthen the public transport system PTI GVS AQS AQS