A day after witnessing a little improvement, Delhi’s air pollution levels registered a marginal spike of 22 points on Friday, reaching the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category recording average Air Quality Index value at 393. According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily AQI bulletin, PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels in Delhi pegged at 393 at 4 pm on Friday, which was the average of past 24 hours, with data from 39 air monitoring stations across the city. PM 2.5 refers to fine particulate matter, which is 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, capable of deep penetration into the respiratory system, while PM 10 refers to particles that are 10 micrometers or less in diameter, small enough to enter through the nose and throat.

A thick layer of haze was visible across the city’s skies during the morning hours, which was dense as compared to Thursday. Places in Delhi with the worst AQI levels at 4 pm include Jahangirpuri- 442, Anand Vihar- 435, Nehru Nagar- 435, Bawana- 427 and Mundka- 426, reeling under severe air quality. However, there was no place in Delhi with AQI levels under the “severe plus” zone.

Cities adjoining Delhi, including Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Noida also reeled under air falling in the ‘very poor’ category with AQI levels recording above 300. As per the Air Quality and Weather Bulletin for Delhi released by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) on Friday, “The air quality is likely to be in Very Poor category on 23.11.2024 to 25.11.2024.”

Meanwhile, people expressed that they could feel a difference in pollution level as there was more smog as compared to Thursday, while they could feel the uneasiness while breathing. Anti pollution measures are being strictly enforced by the concerned departments and government agencies to mitigate the spiked levels of pollutants in the air. Restrictions under the Commission for Air Quality Management’s Graded Response Action Plan’s all four stages remain in force across the city, while large numbers of violators have been booked for flouting them.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s environment minister Gopal Rai has urged the Chief Secretary to personally oversee GRAP enforcement and coordinate execution with all departments in view of air quality improvement.