New Delhi: The national capital’s air quality worsened on Saturday, slipping into the ‘very poor’ category as smoke and fog combined to reduce visibility across the city. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) rose sharply to 303, up from 218 recorded the previous day.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), shallow fog mixed with smoke was observed at both Safdarjung and Palam stations. Safdarjung reported visibility of 900 metres with calm winds, while Palam recorded 1,300 metres of visibility with south-southwesterly winds blowing at 4 kmph.

An IMD weather expert attributed the drop in visibility to the combined impact of fog and smoke.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed the city’s average AQI at 4 pm stood at 303, indicating a significant decline in air quality. Wazirpur recorded the highest pollution levels in Delhi with an AQI of 383, falling in the ‘very poor’ range, as per the CPCB’s Sameer app.

Of the 38 air quality monitoring stations across the capital, 26 recorded ‘very poor’ air, while the remaining stations reported ‘poor’ conditions.

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

The IMD reported a maximum temperature of 30.5°C, three degrees below the seasonal average, while the minimum settled at 19.4°C, 3.3 degrees above normal. The humidity level was recorded at 73 per cent at 5.30 pm.

The weather office has forecast shallow fog on Sunday morning, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to hover around 31°C and 18°C, respectively.

PTI inputs