Delhi air quality plunges to ‘severe’ category, AQI at 407 as of Thursday morning; SAFAR advices 'sensitive groups' to reduce prolonged, heavy exertion

New Delhi: The air quality in the national capital on Thursday morning plunged to “severe” levels for the second consecutive day, said System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). The air quality index (AQI) in the city was recorded at 407 at 8.00 am. [caption id=“attachment_5983731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. ANI[/caption] 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”. An AQI above 500 falls in the “severe plus” category. At Dhirpur, the AQI was 352 at 8.00 am, while in Mathura Road it was 424. The AQI near Chandni Chowk, Airport Terminal 3 and Delhi University stood at 448, 305 and 367 respectively. SAFAR has advised ‘Sensitive Groups’ to reduce prolonged or heavy exertion. People are advised to take more breaks and do less intense activities. The asthmatics have been advised to keep medicines ready if symptoms of coughing or shortness of breath occur. “Heart patients, see the doctor, if get palpitations, shortness of breath, or unusual fatigue,” it stated in its advisory.