Another 'severe' day in NCR, spell may continue till Nov 7

Delhi spent another day negotiating a soupy haze that left residents struggling to breathe, as the air quality index (AQI) on Saturday spent a third consecutive day in the "severe" category, even as no relief was in the offing, with weather agencies predicting that the city's pollution levels will remain similar for the next three days.

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The national capital clocked an AQI of 415 on Saturday, as idle winds, smoke from farm fires and low temperatures kept pollutants concentrated close to the ground. On Friday, Delhi recorded an AQI of 468, the highest in nearly two years. And while the city's official reading according to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) 4pm bulletin on Thursday was 392, a shade short of the "severe" category, this number spilled past 400 just an hour later.

Of the 34 functioning pollution monitoring stations at 4pm on Saturday, 23 were in the "severe" category. The AQI was at its worst in Shadipur (475) and Anand Vihar (473).

Greater Noida was the most polluted city in the National Capital Region (NCR) and indeed the country - with an AQI of 490. Noida clocked an AQI of 408, while Gurugram logged an AQI of 404.

Kuldeep Srivastava of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said conditions were unlikely to change over the next three days.

"A western disturbance is expected on November 7, but it is unlikely to impact the plains, so we may not see any major change yet," he said, attributing the pollution to calm winds.