Delhi's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category on Saturday morning, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 348 at 7.05 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). A thick blanket of smog continued to envelop several parts of the national capital, reported news agency ANI.
According to the report, data recorded at 7 am showed that PM10 and PM2.5 remained the major pollutants across the city. Several monitoring stations, however, reported air quality in the 'severe' category.
North Campus recorded the highest AQI at 421, followed by IIT Delhi at 419, ITO at 415 and Burari Crossing at 410.
Among the stations reporting 'very poor' air quality, Chandni Chowk recorded an AQI of 392 and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) 390. Anand Vihar registered 379, while Chhawla recorded 352.
The AQI at the inner and outer circles of Connaught Place stood at 326, while Maidan Garhi recorded 300.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) had invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas on November 6.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has stepped up pollution-control measures, including deploying water sprinklers across the city to reduce particulate matter in the air.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday said cloud-seeding trials were underway under the supervision of IIT Kanpur. He said details of the implementation and the possibility of rainfall would be shared after the study was completed and yielded positive results.
The government's pollution-control measures have also drawn criticism from the Opposition. On Thursday, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned the credibility of official AQI readings and accused the BJP-led Delhi government and the CPCB of manipulating pollution data following the rise in pollution levels after Diwali.
Speaking to ANI, Bharadwaj cited a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), alleging that actual pollution levels were 49 per cent higher than the figures displayed on government websites.
“Today, many newspapers completely exposed the Delhi government and the Central Pollution Control Board. CREA showed that the pollution shown for Delhi was 49 per cent higher than what you were told—meaning it was almost one and a half times higher,” he said.
He claimed that an AQI reading of 370 could have been closer to 560 or higher and questioned the CPCB's explanation regarding the upper limit of its monitoring system.
“The CPCB said that when our pollution level hits 999, we don't even consider that level, because we can't measure above 999 and we don't display 999. So it's just shown as zero,” Bharadwaj alleged.
He accused the authorities of misleading Delhi's residents over pollution levels, saying the alleged discrepancies affected public understanding of the health risks faced by children and elderly people.
(With inputs from ANI)