Delhi, the national capital, experienced deteriorating air quality on Monday as the Air Quality Index (AQI) rose above 400 in various regions, moving into the "severe" category. Information from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed that several monitoring stations detected concerning AQI levels in the morning, with Anand Vihar at 433, Wazirpur at 414, Jahangirpuri at 413, Rohini at 409, and Punjabi Bagh at 404.
A slight haze could be seen in the vicinity of the Akshardham temple, indicating the worsening air quality throughout the city. The AQI scale classifies levels as: 0-50 (good), 51-100 (satisfactory), 101-200 (moderate), 201-300 (poor), 301-400 (very poor), 401-450 (severe), and over 450 (severe plus).
Besides the mentioned places, other areas in the capital city are also categorised as "very poor" due to unfavourable weather conditions like still winds and cold temperatures that prevent pollutants from dispersing. The National Capital recorded an alarming overall AQI of 382 on Sunday, marking it as the country's worst for the day.
AQI levels exceeding 400 were reported by fifteen monitoring stations located throughout the city, such as Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, NSIT Dwarka, Najafgarh, Nehru Nagar, Okhla Phase 2, Patparganj, Punjabi Bagh, Rohini, Wazirpur, and Vivek Vihar.
Although there was a brief break in pollution levels caused by winds, the city saw a rise in air pollution after Diwali, with a significant increase noted on Sunday. In other parts of India, AQI levels were also classified as "very poor," but they were not as high as in Delhi. In Telangana, Bahadurpura had an AQI of 335, while Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh saw 302, Noida recorded 313, and Sonipat in Haryana reached 321.
