With the winter season arrived at the doorstep, the national capital witnesses depleting pollution level as on Friday, neighbouring areas continued to remain under a thick blanket of haze and the air quality in the region continued to deteriorate further.
As per the reports, the deteriorating condition is largely due to farm fires in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab.
The overall air quality recorded at 486 in Delhi, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
Several areas in the national capital have recorded levels of PM 2.5 particulate above the 400-mark.
The worst air quality (507) was recorded in Bawana in outer Delhi, while Wazirpur, at 272, was one of the least polluted, as per readings taken at 8 am.
It is to be noted that the Delhi government has already banned use of firecrackers in view of the persistently high pollution and smog levels that experts believe put more people at risk from the coronavirus.
A layer of haze lingered over the national capital and its suburbs on Thursday morning, with raging farm fires and a fall in the wind speed and temperatures pushing air quality to the worst levels in around a year.
As the skies hung heavy and acrid over the region, people complained of itchy throat and watery eyes.
Experts said unfavourable meteorological conditions — calm winds and low temperatures — and smoke from farm fires in neighbouring states led to a dense layer of haze on Wednesday night as the air quality index entered the “severe” zone.