Delhi air turns 'very poor' again as temp dips to season's lowest

New Delhi: The Delhi air quality was recorded in the 'very poor' category on Wednesday morning and is likely to dip further.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) till 4 p.m. was 296 in the national Capital, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Meanwhile, the minimum temperature in Delhi dropped to 8 degrees Celcius on Wednesday from 9.1 degrees Celcius on Tuesday. Weather experts said that the temperature is likely to drop to 7 degrees Celcius by Friday as high-velocity northwesterly winds continue to blow from the hills.

The AQI is also expected to worsen to the middle-end of the 'very poor' category on Thursday. Further deterioration to the higher-end of the 'very poor' category is forecast for Friday, Environment Ministry's System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) predicted in its daily report. "AQI is forecasted to touch severe category for some regions of Delhi on December 6, overall AQI may still within very poor category," reported SAFAR.

On the other hand, cases of stubble burning are still persistent. The Delhi government has blamed crop burning for excessive air pollution in the national Capital.

The stubble transport-level winds are north-westerly but the wind speed is high which is not favorable for pollutant accumulation.

PM2.5 per cent contribution is predicted to touch eight per cent today, per SAFAR's trending summary.

At several major junctions of the city, the Air Quality Index (AQI) hovered between 'poor' and 'very poor' category.

Areas like Alipur (360), Anand Vihar (330), Bawana (363), DTU (348), Dwarka sector – 8 (318), ITO (316), Jahangirpuri (363), Mundka (332), Wazirpur (362), Rohini (370), Punjabi Bagh (310) witnessed higher pollution rates. While areas such as Sirifort (290), Shadipur (265), RK Puran (239), North Campus (297) hovered at poor category.