New Delhi: Two days after Diwali, visitors to the Taj Mahal in Agra were disappointed on Sunday, unable to see the marble mausoleum, which was shrouded in a thick blanket of smog.
Agra’s AQI (air quality index) remained in ‘severe’ category. As of 2 pm on Sunday, four stations in Agra — Manoharpur, Sanjay Palace, Sector 3B-Avas Vikas Colony and Shahjahan Garden — recorded an AQI between 405 and 427, with PM 2.5 levels rising to ‘severe’ category.
Apart from Agra, several cities in Uttar Pradesh such as Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad remained in ‘severe’ category.
New Delhi
In the national capital, after remaining in ‘severe’ category for two consecutive days, the air quality is predicted to improve to ‘very poor’ category, according to the Air Quality Early Warning System.
An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe.
Concentrations of PM 10 and PM 2.5 continued to remain high on Sunday morning. The Anand Vihar station recorded an average AQI of 453 at 9 am, Jahangirpuri recorded 466 and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium recorded 443.
Chennai
Meanwhile, Chennai received the ‘heaviest rainfall’ since 2015 following a low pressure over the Bay of Bengal, flooding at least 40 neighbourhoods in the city.
The city and its suburbs received 21.5 cm and 11.3 cm rains respectively by 8.30 am on Sunday. In 2015, on November 15-16, Chennai recorded 24.6 cm rainfall in 24 hours.
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