At 346, Delhi's Air Quality Remains 'Very Poor'; Minimum Temperature 9.8 Deg C

New Delhi: Delhi's air quality remained in the "very poor" category for the seventh consecutive day on Saturday with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 346, officials said.

The city recorded a low of 9.8 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature settled at 26.8 degrees Celsius.

The city's air quality is likely to remain in the "very poor" category for the next three days due to unfavourable weather conditions, they added.

The national capital recorded its coldest night of the season on Thursday, with the nighttime temperature dropping to 9.5 degrees Celsius, according to the data.

The humidity levels oscillated between 97 per cent and 62 per cent during the day.

Delhi's 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 346 at 4 pm on Saturday, marking a slight rise from 331 recorded on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Out of the 38 monitoring stations across the national capital, only Shadipur recorded AQI in the "severe" category, while 34 stations recorded "very poor" AQI, according to the Sameer app that provides hourly updates of national AQI published by the CPCB.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the AQI is likely to be in the "very poor" category for the next three days.

PM2.5 was the primary pollutant in Delhi, with levels recorded at 153 µg/m³ at 3 pm on Saturday. These fine particles pose significant health risks as they can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.

Vehicular emissions, as reported by the Centre's Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management, are typically updated daily at noon.

However, on Saturday, the data available on the website until 4 pm reflected only Friday's estimated contribution, which accounted for 21.6 per cent of Delhi's pollution.

The IMD has forecast moderate fog on Sunday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to settle at 27 degrees Celsius and 11 degrees Celsius, respectively.