Smog chokes Delhi as AQI climbs to 333; city shivers through coldest morning of season
Among all monitoring locations, Mundka emerged as the most polluted area with an AQI of 381 at 7 am
PTC Web Desk: A thick layer of smog once again engulfed the national capital on Saturday, pushing Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) to 333, firmly within the ‘very poor’ zone and slightly worse than the previous day, even as residents continued to battle biting cold conditions.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Friday marked the coldest December morning of the year so far, with temperatures sliding to 5.6°C.
Among all monitoring locations, Mundka emerged as the most polluted area with an AQI of 381 at 7 am, as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) readings. Out of Delhi’s 39 official stations, 35 showed ‘very poor’ air quality, while four recorded ‘poor’ levels. Major stations in the ‘very poor’ bracket included RK Puram (364), Punjabi Bagh (348), Chandni Chowk (348), Rohini (374), Vivek Vihar (309), Bawana (375), Siri Fort (343), Wazirpur (359), Anand Vihar (366), Ashok Vihar (348) and Sonia Vihar (352).
Areas such as NSIT Dwarka (260), Mandir Marg (256), IGI Airport (263) and Aya Nagar (289) reported comparatively better but still ‘poor’ AQI values.
As per CPCB’s categorisation, AQI 0–50 is considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’ and anything above 400 falls into the ‘severe’ range.
Delhi’s Decision Support System (DSS) indicated that vehicular emissions were the top local contributor to pollution at 15.3%. Industrial activities within and around Delhi accounted for 7.6%, followed by emissions from residential sources (3.7%), construction dust (2.1%) and waste burning (1.3%).
Neighbouring NCR districts also contributed significantly, with Jhajjar adding 14.3% of the total pollution load, followed by Rohtak (5%), Sonepat (3.8%), Bhiwani (2.5%) and Gurugram (1.5%).
The capital’s air quality witnessed sharp fluctuations over the week, starting with an AQI of 279 on Sunday, rising to 304 on Monday, peaking at 372 on Tuesday, and settling slightly lower at 342 on Wednesday. Thursday recorded an AQI of 304, followed by 327 on Friday.
‘Very Poor’ dominates the week
Most days of the past week remained in the ‘very poor’ category. With stubble-burning incidents dwindling, pollution from vehicles, households and construction activities became more prominent.
On the other hand, Stage II restrictions of the revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) are currently active. These measures include strict dust-control at construction sites, limitations on entry of vehicles below BS-IV norms and staggered working hours for offices.
Weather ahead
The IMD has predicted shallow fog for Saturday with temperatures expected between 8°C and 23°C. On Friday, the city recorded a maximum of 23.5°C, while the minimum temperature plummeted to 5.6°C , nearly four degrees below normal and the lowest this winter season.
Humidity touched 100% in the morning and later eased to 68% by around 5:30 pm. The previous coldest morning of the month was on December 12 last year, when temperatures had fallen to 4.5°C.