Delhi's air quality 'very poor' with AQI at 342

New Delhi: Delhiites inhaled toxic air on Wednesday as the air quality was recorded in the "very poor" category with an AQI reading of 342, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 342 at 4 pm, compared to 372 on Tuesday and 304 on Monday, according to the CPCB.

Of the 39 monitoring stations, 32 recorded the AQI in the "very poor" category with readings of above 300, according to the CPCB's Sameer app.

The highest AQI was recorded at Nehru Nagar at 378. The other stations that recorded "very poor" air included RK Puram, Burari, Anand Vihar, Mundka, Bawana, Vivek Vihar, Alipur, Shadipur and North Campus.

According to the CPCB's standards, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the city's AQI is likely to remain in the "very poor" category over the next few days. The forecast also predicts mist and haze during the night.

The transport sector accounted for 16 per cent of Delhi's pollution on Wednesday, the highest among local contributors.

Transport emissions are forecast to contribute 14.3 per cent to the capital's toxic air on Thursday.