Delhi's Air Quality Hits "Severe" Levels During Chhath Puja, Smog Blankets City

New Delhi: Pollution levels in the national capital saw a spike during Chhath Puja on Thursday evening with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 382 at 6 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

Sixteen weather stations recorded an AQI above 400 with seven more stations seeing the air quality deteriorate to a "severe" level by evening.

These include Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Mundka, Jahangirpuri, Wazirpur, Okhla Phase 2, Punjabi Bagh, Rohini, Sonia Vihar, and Patparganj, among others.

The city's AQI in the morning was 367 while the 24-hour average AQI at 4 pm was recorded at 377.

A layer of smog was seen blanketing many areas in the city. Mist or smog is expected to cover the city at night, according to an IMD forecast.

The maximum temperature settled at 31.7 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, while the humidity level was at 74 per cent at 5:30 pm.

Shallow fog is expected to cover Delhi on Friday, with the weather likely to remain warmer.

According to AQI classifications, a range of 0-50 is considered "good," 51-100 "satisfactory," 101-200 "moderate," 201-300 "poor," 301-400 "very poor," and 401-500 “severe.”