Delhi's AQI 'very poor' for fourth day, set to get 'severe'

New Delhi: Delhi's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday, with forecasts indicating a likely deterioration to the 'severe' category from Friday, days ahead of Diwali.

The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 369 at 4 pm on Thursday, compared to 377 recorded at the same time on Wednesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

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The city's average AQI was recorded at 350 on Tuesday and 324 on Monday.

Of the 59 active air quality monitoring stations in the national capital, 18 recorded 'severe' air quality, with Jahangirpuri registering the highest AQI of 454 at 4 pm, according to CPCB data.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as 'good', 51-100 as 'satisfactory', 101-200 as 'moderate', 201-300 as 'poor', 301-400 as 'very poor' and 401-500 as 'severe'.

"The outlook for the subsequent six days is that the air quality is likely to be in severe to very poor category," the Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) bulletin said.

Forecasts by the Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management in Delhi indicate that the contribution of stubble burning to the city's pollution is expected to decline sharply on November 7 while the share of vehicular emissions is projected to rise.

DSS, under the ministry of earth sciences, estimated the contribution of stubble burning at 15.6% on Thursday, which is expected to rise to 19.2% on Friday before dropping sharply to 1.6% on Saturday.