After brief relief, Delhi's AQI slips back to 'very poor' category; smog lingers over city

New Delhi: After a few days of brief respite, the air quality in Delhi slipped back into 'very poor' category on Saturday with the AQI crossing 300 in several locations in the city. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the city's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 355 at 9 am.

Delhi's air quality showed signs of slight improvement earlier this week, and several parts of the city recorded an AQI below 300 (poor category) for two consecutive days since Wednesday. However, the air quality in the city deteriorated again this morning with several monitoring stations recording 'severe' pollution levels, and a thick layer of fog also blanketed the city.

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Delhi's air quality to worsen 

The Air Quality Early Warning System forecast that Delhi's air quality is likely to remain in the very poor category over the next six days.

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

Delhi Environment Minister urges people to follow pollution-control measures

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Friday said that the air quality in the city is expected to worsen in the coming days due to an approaching western disturbance and urged people to keep following anti-pollution measures. "According to the weather department and past data, the impact of the western disturbance will be visible in Delhi in the next couple of days. The weather will deteriorate again and there is a strong possibility of heavy haze," he said, warning that fog could turn into smog again due to worsening weather conditions.

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Meanwhile, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 7.8 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The IMD has predicted foggy conditions for the day, with the maximum temperature likely to hover around 22 degrees Celsius.