Delhi air quality slips nears 'severe' as 20 stations record AQI in red zone

New Delhi: Air quality in the capital deteriorated sharply on Saturday, edging close to the 'severe' mark, with the average AQI recorded at 385.

As pollution levels spiked, at least 20 air quality monitoring stations across the city logged readings in the severe category, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

Delhi's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 385 at 4 pm, in the 'very poor' category, compared to 332 on Friday.

On Thursday, the AQI was recorded at 234 at 4 pm, in the poor category, according to the CPCB.

The city witnessed relatively better air quality on Wednesday and Thursday, before pollution levels began to spike once again from Friday, with AQI readings nearing the severe category.

Out of the 40 air quality monitoring stations in the capital, 20 recorded AQI above 400. These included stations at Shadipur, Vivek Vihar, Ashok Nagar, Bawana, Chandni Chowk, DTU, Dwarka, ITO and Mundka, among others, according to data from the CPCB's SAMEER app.

The CPCB classifies AQI levels between 0 and 50 as 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'.

Data from the Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management showed that vehicular emissions were the largest contributor to Delhi's pollution load on Saturday, accounting for 16.2 per cent.

This was followed by emissions from industries in Delhi and adjoining areas (8.5 per cent), residential emissions (4 per cent) and biomass burning (1.6 per cent).

Among NCR districts, Jhajjar in Haryana contributed the highest share to Delhi's pollution levels at 17.5 per cent, followed by Sonipat (5.8 per cent) and Rohtak (5.6 per cent), the data showed.

The air quality is likely to remain in the very poor category in the coming days, according to the forecast.

Meanwhile, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 22.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday, 1.8 degrees above normal, while the minimum temperature settled at 7.8 degrees Celsius, slightly below seasonal average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Relative humidity stood at 70 per cent at 8.30 am and rose to 100 per cent at 5.30 pm.

The IMD has forecast a minimum temperature of 8 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 22 degrees Celsius for Sunday, with shallow to dense fog likely during morning and evening hours.