Delhi chokes as air quality stays in 'very poor' band on Saturday

New Delhi, Dec 6 (PTI) A thick blanket of pollution hung over the capital on Saturday as Delhi's air quality stayed locked in the 'very poor' category, with the 24-hour average AQI settling at 330.

Among the 40 monitoring stations, 31 stations remained in the 'very poor' levels in the evening, with Nehru Nagar reporting the highest AQI at 369, according to CPCB's Sameer App.

Earlier, Delhi woke to another choking morning with the AQI at 335 at 9 am. A total of 36 stations were in the 'very poor' category, with Mundka recording the worst levels at 387.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 0 and 50 is 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor' and 401 to 500 'severe'.

According to the Decision Support System for Delhi's air quality management, transport within the city remained the highest local contributor at 14.8 per cent, followed by industries in Delhi and surrounding areas at 7.3 per cent, residential sources at 3.6 per cent and construction at 2 per cent.

Among neighbouring NCR districts, Jhajjar contributed 13.9 per cent, while Rohtak accounted for 5.2 per cent.

Delhi's air quality has swung sharply through the week. The city recorded an AQI of 279 on Sunday, 304 on Monday, rose to 372 on Tuesday, and stood at 342 on Wednesday. It remained in the 'very poor' category at 304 on Thursday and 327 on Friday.

On the weather front, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the maximum temperature settled at 24.6 degrees Celsius, 0.7 notches below normal, while the minimum was 6.8 degrees Celsius, 2.7 notches below normal.

Evening relative humidity stood at 56 per cent, while morning humidity climbed to 95 per cent. The weather department predicted shallow fog for Sunday morning.

For Sunday, the IMD has forecast a minimum temperature of 9 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 24 degrees Celsius, with a partly cloudy sky. PTI SGV NSM MPL MPL