Complaints of choking and ‘eye burning’ poured in from Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Thursday as smog and air pollution left people gasping for breath.

The air quality of the National Capital dipped to ”severe” category as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city stood at 418, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

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The PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentration stood at 418 and 399, respectively, under the same “severe” and “very poor” category, according to the SAFAR data.

The AQI between zero 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”.

In Pusa, the AQI recorded 445 “very poor” category, while PM 10 was reported at 396 under “very poor” category and PM 2.5 concentration 445 under “severe” category. At Lodhi Road, the Air Quality Index was reported 388 with PM 2.5 concentration at 388 under the “very poor” category and the PM 10 stood at 329.

The AQI of Delhi’s neighbouring cities of NOIDA stood at 498 under “severe” category with PM 2.5 concentration at 498 and the PM 10 concentration at 397 under “very poor” category, while Gurugram’s AQI was reported at 393 under the “very poor” category with PM 2.5 concentration at 393 and the PM 10 concentration at 327 under the “very poor” category.

Arjun Prajapati, a resident of Noida, alleged that despite the ban being imposed by the government, there was unreportedly a huge amount of cracker sales made across Delhi and NCR region. “Despite the government’s ban, so many firecrackers were sold leading to this condition post-Diwali. There is so much difficulty in breathing that I cannot even breathe. There is burning in the eyes. Pollution is increasing. The government should take cognizance of it,” he said.

Unfavorable meteorological conditions with slower wind speed and sudden spike in farm fire incidents are attributed to the dip in air quality. Apart from this, elder people are complaining of respiratory illness as the city reels under smog.

“Amid the baseload of the pollution, we suffer difficulty in breathing, burning in the nose. When we came here for a morning walk, the whole area was covered in smog,” an elder person said.

The “severe” category of air quality calls for health warnings of emergency conditions and even serious risk of respiratory effects on the general public.

For any sensitive persons, the SAFAR advises them to remain indoors and also keep activity indoors at low levels, while for asthmatic persons, the relief kit should be kept ready while the air quality continues under the “severe” category.

Another resident of the NCR, also woke up to a thick layer of smog today morning.

“The government is putting a lot of restrictions but nobody followed, recently in Diwali, despite the crackers ban. Lots of people burst firecrackers,” he said. “When I came for a morning walk I suffered from eye-itching and a throat infection. The neighboring states are failing to stop the farm fires. As of now, we are entering into the winter season which is contributing to the pollution,” he added.

The locals are complaining about stubble burning from the adjoining states, Punjab and Haryana.

“We should hold ourselves accountable, along with the politicians. People are suffering due to stubble burning too,” locals in New Delhi said.

According to data by SAFAR, Dhirpur in Model Town plunged to an AQI of 457-a level at which even healthy people can fall ill.

The AQI near IGI Airport (T3) also stood in the ”very poor” category today at 346. Yesterday, the AQI in the area recorded 350.

With air pollution worsening in the national capital, Delhi authorities halted all construction work and demolition activities till further orders.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has urged the Delhi government to shut schools till air quality improves.