Delhi Breathes Easy with Cleanest Air of 2023
Delhi experienced something special on September 10, 2023 – it had the best air quality of the year! The air was so clean that it earned a score of 45 on the Air Quality Index (AQI), which is really good news for everyone.
Neighboring cities like Ghaziabad and Noida also had clean air, and Gurgaon’s air quality was decent too. What made this happen was a night of Rain on September 10 that continued into the morning of September 11, and some places even had rain until noon. This rain helped wash away the pollution from the air.
At the main weather station in Delhi called Safdarjung, they recorded 38.6 millimeters of rain from 8.30 am on Saturday to 8.30 am on Sunday. After that, there was a little more rain until 11.30 am on Sunday. The most rain, 58 millimeters, happened in Mayur Vihar between 8.30 am on Saturday and 8.30 am on Sunday.
Even though there was rain, Delhi is still short on its usual amount of rain for September. By September 10th, they only had 48.3 millimeters of rain when they usually have around 70 millimeters. According to the weather experts at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), there might be a tiny bit of rain or drizzle on Monday, but it’s not likely to rain on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. There’s a small chance of very light rain on Friday.
To understand how great an AQI of 45 is, you need to know that AQI ranges from 0 to 500. An AQI of 0 to 50 is ‘good,’ and 51 to 100 is ‘satisfactory.’ As it goes up, the air quality gets worse. From 101 to 200 is ‘moderate,’ 201 to 300 is ‘poor,’ and 301 to 400 is ‘very poor.’ The worst air quality is from 401 to 500, which is ‘severe.’
Before this, the Cleanest Air in Delhi in 2023 was on July 29th when the AQI was 59, which is still ‘satisfactory.’ In 2022, Delhi only had three days with ‘good’ air quality in September and October. Back in 2021, there was one ‘good’ air quality day in October. But if we look further back, 2020 had five ‘good’ air quality days, and 2019 had two, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
This achievement shows that efforts to fight air pollution and natural events like rain can really make a difference. Keeping the air clean is important because it helps keep people healthy and happy. So, let’s celebrate this clean air day and work towards having more of them in the future!
