Visibility plunged across parts of Delhi on Saturday morning, with buildings and flyovers fading into a grey blur amid dense fog, as the capital’s AQI edged closer to the ‘severe’ category at 384.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies an AQI between 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 as ‘severe’.
The lowest visibility up to 8.30 am was recorded at Safdarjung, where it dropped to 200 metres, followed by Palam at 350 metres, according to official data.
Several parts of the capital were enveloped in dense smog and fog during the early morning hours, leading to poor visibility — a situation forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) a day earlier, officials said.
According to CPCB data, of the 40 air quality monitoring stations across Delhi, 16 recorded AQI in the ‘severe’ zone, while 24 were in the ‘very poor’ category. ITO was the worst, at 437.
On Friday, Delhi’s AQI stood at 374, with 11 of the 40 monitoring stations in the ‘severe’ category and 29 in the ‘very poor’ range.
The AQI is likely to worsen over the next two days, with the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi forecasting that pollution levels may slip into the ‘severe’ category on Sunday and Monday amid unfavourable meteorological conditions.
To mitigate the toxic pollution levels, a ban on non-Delhi private vehicles below BS-VI emission standards and enforcement of the ‘No PUC, No Fuel’ rule came into force on Thursday.
Under the rule, no vehicle can refuel at any fuel station without a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate.