Delhi lives through choking November: Capital city spends over half of month in 'very poor' air; today's AQI at 369

Delhi residents have now spent over half of November choking on toxic air as smog haze blanketed the city's sky, causing burning eyes and difficulty breathing.

An overall AQI of 369 was recorded in the city on Friday, extending its streak of 'very poor' air quality to nearly 20 days. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) settled at 369 on Friday, compared to 377 on Thursday, 327 on Wednesday, 352 on Tuesday and 382 on Monday.

The highest AQI in the city, at 414, was recorded in Dwarka Sector 8, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer app.

At 6:00 AM on Saturday, CPCB recorded a marginal improvement in the AQI at 341.

An AQI between 301–400 is considered ‘very poor’ and 401–500 ‘severe’.

While removing the Stage-3 restrictions of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) official said that the air quality is expected to “not touch severe category”.

“…by Thursday evening and from Friday onwards, winds are forecast to pick up again and so the AQI is not likely to touch 400 and into the severe category,” the official said, adding they were monitoring the situation closely.

No respite in the next week

The air quality is likely to remain 'very poor' over the coming week, according to the forecast by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.

Unfavourable meteorological conditions, combined with vehicle emissions, paddy straw burning, firecrackers, and other local pollution sources, lead to hazardous air quality levels in Delhi-NCR during winter.

The Decision Support System of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, estimated that vehicular emissions contributed 18 per cent to Delhi’s pollution on Friday. Stubble burning accounted for 1.2 per cent.

These contributions on Saturday are projected to reach 18.4 per cent for vehicular emissions and 1.7 per cent for stubble burning in the national capital.

Delhi weather

For Saturday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast fog, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to settle around 26 and 11 degrees Celsius, respectively.

(With PTI inputs)