Delhi's air quality nears 'poor' as winter approaches

A pedestrian wearing a face mask at Kartavya Path (File image)

As winter chill in Delhi has begun to set in, the city is bracing for another seasonal surge in air pollution as the Air Quality Index (AQI) on Saturday stood at 199, just a few notches away from the 'poor' category.

While the city's low was 19.4 degrees Celsius, 1.6 notches below normal, the maximum temperature settled at 30.3 degrees Celsius, 3.9 notches below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

At 4 pm, Delhi's AQI was recorded in the "moderate" category at 199. An AQI between 201 to 300 falls under the "poor" category.

The national capital last recorded a "poor" AQI in June, according to the data.

According to data from the Decision Support System (DSS), the transport sector remained the biggest contributor to Delhi's pollution, accounting for 17.9 per cent of the total emissions.

Meanwhile, satellite data detected stubble burning incidents on Saturday. Punjab reported 14 incidents, Haryana one, and the neighbouring UP-NCR region 42 incidents.

The IMD has forecast mainly clear skies for Sunday, with the minimum and maximum temperatures likely to hover around 19 and 31 degrees Celsius, respectively.

As per the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 to 100 "satisfactory", 101 to 200 "moderate", 201 to 300 "poor", 301 to 400 "very poor" and 401 to 500 "severe".