New Delhi: Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) dipped slightly to 364 on Friday, a small improvement from the previous day but still firmly in the ‘very poor’ category. Twelve monitoring stations across the city recorded pollution levels in the ‘severe’ range, highlighting persistent hazardous conditions.
The 24-hour average AQI remained in the ‘very poor’ bracket for the eighth straight day. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s average AQI stood at 391 on Thursday, 392 on Wednesday, 374 on Tuesday and 351 on Monday.
Data from the CPCB’s Sameer app showed that out of 38 operational monitoring stations, 12 registered AQI readings above 400. These stations included DTU, Bawana, Anand Vihar, Mundka, Narela, Rohini, Vivek Vihar, Jahangirpuri and Ashok Vihar.
Under CPCB guidelines, an AQI of 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’ and 401-500 ‘severe’.
The Decision Support System (DSS) of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, estimated that vehicular emissions contributed 16.2% to Delhi’s pollution on Thursday, while stubble-burning added 1.8%. For Saturday, the projected contribution stands at 14.9% and 2.8%, respectively.
Satellite data recorded 12 farm fires in Punjab, 2 in Haryana and 98 in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. Government figures for the September to November 20 period show Punjab logged nearly 5,000 stubble-burning incidents, Uttar Pradesh 4,600, and Haryana 592. During the wheat-harvest months earlier this year, Punjab had reported 47,000 such cases, Uttar Pradesh 45,000 and Haryana 9,700.
On the weather front, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the minimum temperature dipped to 11.2°C—1.1 degrees below normal—while the maximum reached 28.2°C, slightly above average. The IMD has forecast moderate fog for Saturday, with temperatures expected to hover around 26°C during the day and 11°C at night.
