Delhi's AQI remains 'very poor', likely to turn 'severe' over weekend

New Delhi: Delhi’s air quality hovered in the ‘very poor’ bracket on Friday, with experts predicting a further spike that could push the city's air into the ‘severe’ zone over the weekend.

The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) at 4 pm stood in the ‘very poor’ category at 349, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System, the air quality is likely to remain ‘very poor’ on Saturday and turn ‘severe’ on Sunday.

Of the 39 monitoring stations in the capital, 27 on Friday recorded ‘very poor’ air and six fell in the ‘severe’ band, with Jahangirpuri reporting the worst reading of 432, according to the CPCB’s Sameer app.

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

The Decision Support System (DSS) for Delhi's Air Quality Management estimated transport as the biggest contributor to air pollution in the capital on Friday at 16.5 per cent.

The city and peripheral industries contributed 8.6 per cent, residential sources up to 4.1 per cent, construction 2.2 per cent and waste burning 1.4 per cent.

Among the NCR districts, Jhajjar contributed up to 14.5 per cent, Sonipat 6.4 per cent, Rohtak 4.3 per cent, Bagpat 2.1 per cent and Gurugram 1.6 per cent to air pollution, the DSS data showed.

On Friday morning, the AQI settled at 332 in the ‘very poor’ range, with 30 stations recording ‘very poor’ levels, while Jahangirpuri slipped into the ‘severe’ band at 405.

On the weather front, the maximum temperature on Friday settled at 26.6 degrees Celsius, 3.6 notches above normal, while the minimum was 8 degrees Celsius, 0.6 notch below normal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The relative humidity was 82 per cent in the evening and 100 per cent in the morning.

The IMD has forecast moderate fog on Saturday with a minimum temperature of 11 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 23 degrees Celsius.