There was little respite from toxic air for Delhi on Saturday, with the city once again recording “very poor” pollution levels even as neighbouring Uttar Pradesh moved to clamp down on vehicular emissions by banning diesel autorickshaws in Noida and Ghaziabad.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index stood at 370, marking the ninth straight day in the very poor category.

Eleven of the 38 operational monitoring stations registered readings in the severe range where the AQI crossed 400.

These stations included DTU, Bawana, Anand Vihar, Mundka, Narela, Rohini and Vivek Vihar.

The city’s AQI trend through the week reflected persistent stagnation with an average of 374 on Friday, 391 on Thursday, 392 on Wednesday, 374 on Tuesday and 351 on Monday.

The CPCB categorises 0 to 50 as good, 51 to 100 as satisfactory, 101 to 200 as moderate, 201 to 300 as poor, 301 to 400 as very poor and 401 to 500 as severe.

Estimates from the Decision Support System of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune indicated that vehicular emissions contributed 14.9 per cent to the pollution load on Saturday.

Stubble burning accounted for 2.8 per cent. For Sunday, the respective shares are projected at 19.1 per cent and 2.6 per cent. Satellite data detected 30 farm fires in Punjab, 11 in Haryana and 250 in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

Weather conditions remained characteristically wintery. The minimum temperature settled at 11.8 degrees Celsius, which is 0.5 degrees below normal.

The maximum was recorded at 23.7 degrees Celsius, 0.6 degrees above normal, the India Meteorological Department said.

For Sunday, the IMD has predicted moderate fog with maximum and minimum temperatures likely to hover around 26 and 11 degrees Celsius.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday announced a phased ban on diesel autorickshaws across the state’s National Capital Region cluster as part of a comprehensive strategy to curb air pollution.

Diesel autos have been fully prohibited with immediate effect in Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad. Baghpat will enforce a complete ban after December 31, 2025.

The Meerut Regional Transport Authority has already halted the issuance and renewal of permits for diesel autorickshaws.

By December 31 next year, these vehicles will be phased out in Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.

Road dust has been identified as a key contributor to particulate pollution in the region.

The action plan focuses on road redevelopment, intensified dust suppression and large scale cleanliness drives. For coordinated execution, the principal secretary of the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department has been named the nodal officer and a project monitoring unit has been set up at the state level under the environment department’s secretary.

Senior officials from Urban Development, Public Works, Housing and Urban Planning and Industrial and Infrastructure Development have been included in the panel.

Authorities in Noida and Greater Noida have begun deploying anti smog guns, sprinklers and mechanical sweeping systems to address roadside dust.