Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) on Friday remained in the ‘very poor’ zone as the pollution numbers measured at 323 on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The city’s air quality continued to be in the ‘very poor’ category for over a week now. However, the CPCB’s daily AQI bulletin said no area across the city recorded an AQI falling under the ‘severe’ zone,

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The Nehru Nagar area recorded the worst AQI reading of 378 on Friday, followed by Wazirpur 377, Bawana 376, Shadipur 375 and Mundka 366.

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

The PM 10 and PM 2.5 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 Friday was based on observations from the 35 out of 40 air monitoring stations across the city.

The Central pollution control agency has said that prolonged exposure to air under the ‘very poor’ category may cause respiratory illness.

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- three days. “The air quality is likely to remain in the Very Poor category from 16.12.2023 to 18.12.2023. The outlook for subsequent 6 Days: The air quality is likely to remain in the Poor to Very Poor category,” the IITM said.

Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 4.9 degrees Celsius on Friday, which was 4 points below the season’s average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The Met Department has forecast shallow fog in the morning for Saturday with minimum temperature to hover around 6 degrees Celsius and maximum to hover around 25 degrees Celsius.

All the anti-pollution measures like spraying of water along roads, mechanised sweeping, deployment of special teams at the 13 hotspots, anti-smog guns and other actions are underway in the city in accordance with the Commission for Air Quality Management’s (CAQM) Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stages-I & II that are invoked across the Delhi- NCR region.

Meanwhile, NCR cities sharing borders with Delhi including Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida and Sonipat continued to reel under the ‘poor’ AQI levels on Friday, with index values below 301, the CPCB said.