New Delhi: Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) recorded a marginal improvement in the air quality on Saturday due to a slight increase in wind speed. The overall AQI in the city read 312 at 4 pm, down from 360 at the same time on Friday. Most of the 37 air quality monitoring stations in Delhi recorded AQI in the lower end the "very poor" category.
Nehru Nagar was the most polluted area with an AQI of 351, while Dilshad Garden (213) was the least polluted.
Neighbouring Ghaziabad (347), Greater Noida (336), Gurgaon (278), Faridabad (280) and Noida (322) also recorded a slight dip in pollution levels.
Weather experts said the air quality will improve further on Sunday due to moderate winds blowing in the region.
However, pollution is expected to increase again from Monday due to a dip in wind speed under the influence of a fresh western disturbance.
The Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research said no drastic dip in the air quality is expected until November 25.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Fire Services on Saturday began sprinkling water in 13 pollution hotspots in the city to check the spread of pollutants like dust, a top official said. The exercise was initiated following orders from the Delhi government, he said.
The 13 pollution hotspots in Delhi, identified by the Central Pollution Control Board, are Rohini, Dwarka, Okhla Phase II, Punjabi Bagh, Anand Vihar, Vivek Vihar, Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, RK Puram, Bawana, Narela, Mundka and Mayapuri.
A total of 20 fire tenders have been pressed into service and more will be deployed after an analysis of fire calls, Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg said.