Delhi’s air turned increasingly toxic on Saturday, with pollution levels breaching the 400 mark across several neighbourhoods, placing the national capital among the most polluted cities in India.
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the city’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 361 at 4 pm — firmly in the ‘red zone’.
The reading made Delhi the second most polluted city in the country for the day, just a notch below its own record on Friday when it topped the list with an AQI of 322.
Several monitoring stations across the capital registered air quality in the ‘severe’ category. Wazirpur (420), Burari (418), Vivek Vihar (411), Nehru Nagar (406), ITO (402) and Alipur (404) were among the worst-hit areas, as per CPCB’s Sameer app readings from 38 stations across Delhi.
The air was no better across the National Capital Region. Noida recorded an AQI of 354, Greater Noida 336, and Ghaziabad 339 — all falling under the ‘very poor’ category.
PM2.5 and PM10 particles, fine pollutants capable of entering deep into the lungs, remained the dominant contributors to Delhi’s suffocating air.
Forecast models from the Decision Support System (DSS) suggested that stubble burning accounted for about 30 per cent of the city’s pollution on Saturday, while vehicular emissions contributed 15.2 per cent.
Satellite data revealed 100 farm fires in Punjab, 18 in Haryana and 164 in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.
The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi has predicted that conditions will stay in the ‘very poor’ bracket over the next few days.
Since Diwali, Delhi’s air quality has swung between ‘poor’, ‘very poor’, and ‘severe’, with no sign yet of sustained improvement.
As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0-50 is “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor”, and 401-500 “severe”.
With winter settling in and winds slowing down, the city once again finds itself gasping under a blanket of smog — a grim seasonal reminder of its unyielding pollution crisis.
