India’s national capital, New Delhi, woke up to a chilly morning on Thursday (Dec 19) as the temperatures dropped to 7 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the capital’s air quality fell into the “severe category” as the AQI increased to 423, as stated by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); any AQI exceeding or equal to 400 is critical.
According to reports, the IMD has issued an orange alert for Delhi and said dense fog will prevail in the city for the next two days due to western disturbances.
AQI showed a severe plus level out of the total 36 monitoring stations. The pollution levels had been recorded as severe and hazardous on Wednesday, with the air quality index shooting up to 448 at 6 pm.
Readings have been exceeding 480 at several monitoring stations, which is creating an extremely dangerous situation for the citizens.
Regions such as Anand Vihar, Bawana, Burari, Dwarka, ITO, Jahangirpuri, North Campus DU, etc., were said to have severe air quality levels.
On Tuesday, AQI recorded 433 at 4 pm; on Monday, it was 379. Days ahead were shrouded with shallow fog covering the entire city and areas of the outskirts.
The city continues to stay under an appalling blanket of air pollution. The highest level measure against pollution, Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), has already gone into effect, banning construction activities and nonessential polluting trucks from entering Delhi.
