Seven Northern Cities Record Poorer AQI Than Capital, CPCB Data Shows

Hanumangarh in Rajasthan and Fatehabad in Haryana were among seven locations that recorded higher air pollution levels than Delhi on Wednesday, indicating that air pollution is not just a problem of National Capital Region (NCR) but of most of the northern plains, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

- Chetan Chauhan

Hanumangarh in north-western Rajasthan recorded air quality index (AQI) of 414 becoming the most polluted town in the country, followed by Fatehabad and Hisar in Haryana, with AQI of 410 and 403, respectively. The air quality in these three towns, as per the CPCB data, was in the ‘severe’ category on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality was in the “poor” category, as the AQI recorded was 364. Other places in the region with worse air quality were Bahadurgarh (383), Kaithal (376), and Rohtak (374) in Haryana, and Muzaffarnagar (370) in Uttar Pradesh.

Analysis of CPCB’s AQI data for Wednesday shows that almost half of the locations monitored in western Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Delhi had either “poor”, “very poor” or “severe” air quality.