NEW DELHI: Air quality in Delhi deteriorated again on Saturday after a brief improvement earlier in the week. Several parts of the city recorded pollution levels in the “very poor” and “severe” categories. Residents across the capital woke up to thick smog that reduced visibility in many areas. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality in Dhaula Kuan was at an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 252, which is classified as ‘poor’. In Akshardham and Anand Vihar, the AQI reached ‘410’, placing both areas in the ‘severe’ category. The ITO area recorded an AQI of 379, which falls in the ‘very poor’ category. The city’s 24-hour average AQI was 332 as of 4pm on Friday, compared to 234 on Thursday. As of 11 a.m. Friday, the AQI was 320, up from 218 at the same time a day earlier. In the afternoon, several areas entered the difficult Category. Jajjangpuri recorded an aqi of 403 at 2 pm and Anand Vihar 405. At 6 pm the pluls worsened with Bawana recording an aqi of 423, Vech Vihar 418, Jaragrpuri 414, Narela 413, Anand Vihar 406, Rohin 405, Dtu 404 and Nehru Nagar 4 registered Weather authorities attributed the increase in pollution to calm wind conditions linked to an impending disturbance in the west. The India Meteorological Department said wind speeds remained low in the early hours of the morning and briefly reached 10 km/h from the southwest later in the day. Weather analysts warned that a series of western unrest could further increase pollution levels in the coming days.The weather office has issued a yellow warning warning of moderate to dense fog. The minimum temperatures are expected to be between 6 and 8 degrees Celsius on Saturday and between 5 and 7 degrees on Sunday.
