Delhi’s average air quality index on Saturday continued to be in the ‘very poor’ zone with a reading of 354, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

However, four places across the city registered the air quality in ‘severe’ zone, measuring AQI levels above 400, the pollution control agency data said.

According to CPCB, exposure to ‘severe’ category of air quality affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases. It said prolonged exposure to air under the ‘very poor’ category may cause respiratory illness.

Wazirpur area recorded the worst AQI reading on Saturday at 421, followed by Jahangirpuri- 419, Shadipur-415 and Vivek Vihar-401.

Till Friday, no area across the city recorded an AQI falling under the ‘severe’ zone.

The prominent pollutants in the city’s air on Saturday were the PM 2.5 and PM 10 particles as per the data of the pollution control agency.

The PM 2.5 and PM 10 micro particles are those pollutants that are small enough to penetrate deep into the respiratory system and likely trigger health issues, as experts say.

The air quality data released on Saturday was based on readings and observations from the 37 out of 40 air monitoring stations across the city, functioning under multiple agencies.

According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), there is a likelihood of the air remaining in the ‘very poor’ category for the coming two days. The air quality is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category from December 17 to 18, it said.

Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 5.5 degrees Celsius on Saturday, which was 3 notches below the season’s average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The MeT Department has forecast shallow fog in the morning for Sunday with minimum temperature to hover around 7 degrees Celsius and maximum to hover around 25 degrees Celsius.

The efforts to keep a check on biomass burning and vehicular pollution are underway by the government as regular checks on polluting vehicles without valid Pollution Under Control certificates were being conducted.

All the anti-pollution measures like spraying of water along roads, mechanized sweeping, operation of anti-smog guns around hotspots and other actions are underway in the city.

Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stages-I & II continue to remain in effect across the city and NCR region as ordered by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).

Meanwhile, the air quality has turned ‘very poor’ on Saturday across cities like Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida, that are part of the NCR and are adjacent to the national capital.