Delhi chokes under toxic haze as AQ remains ‘very poor’

On Monday morning, a thick blanket of toxic haze continued to smother the national capital, pushing air quality levels deep into the ‘very poor’ category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

At 9 a.m., Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 345, data from CPCB revealed. Several parts of the city were engulfed in dense smog, severely reducing visibility and giving the skyline a greyish tint.

The Sameer app indicated alarming pollution levels in certain areas; Bawana recorded ‘severe’ air quality with an AQI of 411, while Wazirpur followed closely at 397. Out of 38 monitoring stations, one (Bawana) reported ‘severe’ air quality, while 33 others remained in the ‘very poor’ range.

As per the data shown by CPCB, the city’s air quality had sharply deteriorated on Sunday morning, touching this season’s worst level of 391 before showing marginal improvement later in the day. By 4 p.m., the overall AQI had droppe-d slightly to 370, still within the ‘red zone’.

Experts attribute the persistent smog to post-Diwali pollution. The air quality has been fluctuating between the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories for the past week, occasionally breaching into the ‘severe’ zone.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Monday's minimum temperature in Delhi was 10.4°C, which is 3.9°C below the season's average and the coldest morning of the season thus far. At 8:30 a.m., the humidity was 79%. The maximum temperature is predicted to be around 28°C, with shallow fog expected throughout the day, exceeding Saturday's minimum of 11°C.

According to CPCB standards, an AQI reading of 0–50 is considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’, and 401–500 ‘severe’.