At 9 am, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) for Delhi NCR reached 404. Specific areas within the city showed varying levels of pollution, with the Pusa area recording an AQI of 395 and IIT Delhi at 385.

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Lodhi Road reported an AQI of 378, categorizing it as ‘very poor.’ 

However, Delhi University faced a more severe situation with an AQI of 416, while the air quality at the Delhi IGI Airport Terminal 3 reached a critical level of 432, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR-India).

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Meanwhile, the nearby cities of Ghaziabad (AQI 424), Gurugram (AQI 345), Greater Noida (AQI 398), Noida (AQI 393), and Faridabad (AQI 426) also registered air quality levels ranging from ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ on Saturday.

According to a scientist from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), there is a forecast for temporary relief in meteorological conditions in northwest India due to the influence of an approaching western disturbance expected to commence from Sunday, PTI reported.

The air quality in Delhi has been experiencing a gradual rise in AQI levels following a slight improvement observed last Sunday.

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In Kanpur, biomass burning emerged as the primary cause of Delhi’s poor air quality, constituting 51 percent of the capital’s air pollution on Friday.

Data indicated that vehicular emissions contributed approximately 31 percent to the overall air pollution in the city on the preceding day.

In response to these findings, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has instructed relevant agencies and departments to rigorously enforce restrictions on polluting vehicles and address the escalating incidents of biomass burning.

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“Some increase in the pollution of Delhi has been noted. We had a meeting regarding it. The incidents of stubble burning are very few now, and the level of pollution is still increasing. Scientists reported 2-3 factors for this. The first is that vehicle pollution’s contribution is 36%. The second factor is biomass burning. We made some major decisions after seeing this. To control vehicle pollution, we issued the rules of GRAP 3.” Gopal Rai said.

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“To control biomass burning, we have directed the related organisations to monitor this especially. especially the MCD, Revenue, DDA, and NDMC, are being given this direction for the fires that are breaking out at various places in the parks,” Rai added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Updated: 25 Nov 2023, 10:08 AM IST