Delhi's air quality worsens due to dust surge; AQI in 'very poor' category

NEW DELHI: Delhi experienced a significant drop in air quality on Friday morning, with the AQI rising to 301, placing it in the 'very poor' category due to a sudden increase in dust pollution.The Central Pollution Control Board reported that at 7 am, Delhi's overall AQI stood at 301. Most monitoring stations recorded AQI levels within the very poor range. Specific locations such as Anant Vihar, Ashok Vihar, and Aya Nagar registered AQIs of 352, 322, and 333 respectively. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) explained that strong wind gusts of 30-40 kmph swept through Palam and nearby areas, carrying dust from Rajasthan. This unusual weather event caused the air quality to worsen unexpectedly for the month of May in the capital. Meanwhile, political tensions have risen over the deteriorating air quality. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) criticised the BJP government, accusing it of failing to keep its promise of clean air within just three months.On social media platform X, the AAP's official account stated: "In the month of May itself, Delhi-NCR was covered in a blanket of pollution. In the month of May itself, AQI has crossed 500 in many areas of Delhi-NCR, and dust and poisonous air are spread in the air. This has never happened before. There are BJP governments in Delhi and all the surrounding states, but no BJP government is doing any work to reduce pollution." AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal shared a news report on the high AQI levels, adding, "Air pollution was never this bad during the AAP regime at this time of the year." In response, Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa criticised former Delhi chief minister Atishi, who had claimed that the AQI reached 500 on Thursday morning. Sirsa said, "I am very amazed that Atishi has been the CM and she is tweeting like this - yesterday, the weather department had told that there would be thunderstorms and duststorms - now, will we be blamed for such storms? But it's good that Atishi has expectations from us. But, the 'disease' that 'AAP-da' has given us for the last 10 years, we will make all efforts and will clean the air of Delhi." The worsening air quality comes as dust storms brought by strong winds continue to affect the region, posing health risks to residents.