Delhi's AQI at 404 in 'severe' category for third straight day

New Delhi: Delhi's toxic air showed no signs of relief on Thursday, with the national capital recording its third consecutive day in the 'severe' category.

The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 404 at 4 pm, slightly better than Wednesday's 418 but still at a level that poses serious health risks even to healthy individuals.

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The reading comes despite the Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) predicting 'very poor' air for the day — the third such inaccurate forecast this week.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, too, the model had forecast 'very poor' air quality, only for the AQI to remain well above 400.

Meanwhile, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), out of Delhi's 39 monitoring stations, 28 reported 'severe' air quality.

Wazirpur (458), Chandni Chowk (453), and Bawana (452) were among the worst-affected areas. Across the country, only Bahadurgarh (466) and Rohtak (430) recorded worse air quality than Delhi.

Meteorologists said weather conditions have trapped pollutants close to the ground.

"Light winds and falling temperatures have created an inversion layer, which prevents dispersion of pollutants," said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet Weather.

"Winds were expected to pick up but remained weak at around 5-7 km/hr. The calm conditions at night make the situation worse," he said.

Data from the Decision Support System (DSS) showed that stubble burning contributed around 12 per cent to Delhi's PM2.5 concentration on Thursday - down from 22.4 per cent the previous day, the highest share this season.

Though northwesterly winds in the morning turned westerly later, reducing the influx of smoke from Punjab and Haryana, satellite imagery continued to show a dense haze stretching across the Indo-Gangetic plains.

With CAQM's Stage-3 restrictions already in place, construction activities have been halted across NCR, and older BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel four-wheelers are barred from plying in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar.

Primary schools up to Class 5 have also been directed to continue classes in hybrid mode until further orders.

Weather conditions continued to reflect the onset of a cold, stagnant winter phase - the kind that typically worsens Delhi's pollution episodes.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 10.6 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal, while the maximum was 26.3 degrees Celsius.

Last November, Delhi saw eight 'severe' air days, with a peak AQI of 494 on November 18 - the second-highest ever recorded in the city.