Toxic morning: Delhi wakes up to ‘hazardous’ 482 AQI as severe smog grips capital

Delhi wakes up to "hazardous" air quality on Thursday morning (Nov 5), with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 482 at 8:01 am, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. Seven monitoring stations in the national capital recorded AQI levels above 400, which falls in the severe category. Punjabi Bagh logged the highest reading at 446, followed by Narela at 434, Rohini at 431, RK Puram at 416, Bawana at 412, North Campus (Delhi University) at 408 and Patparganj at 405.

Very poor and poor zones

Several other areas fell in the very poor category. Okhla Phase-2 and India Gate both recorded an AQI of 399, while ITO stood at 397 and Dwarka Sector 8 at 396. Chandni Chowk recorded 356 and Vasundhara Enclave 330.

Anand Vihar logged an AQI of 293, and the IMD Lodhi Road station recorded 268. Both fall in the poor category.

Minister's take on monitoring

As the capital's air slid into the severe category, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Tuesday (Nov 3) that the Centre's air quality panel is continuously tracking meteorological conditions, including wind direction, wind speed and air movement. He assured that necessary action is being taken.

The worsening air quality comes despite what the government describes as a decline in stubble-burning incidents compared with previous years. The government says a significant share of paddy stubble has been handled through ex-situ management.

Asked about the reduction in stubble burning in neighbouring states, including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, Yadav said around 40 per cent of the paddy stubble had been utilised through ex-situ management this time.

"CAQM is continuously monitoring meteorological conditions, including wind direction, wind speed and the movement of air. Based on these assessments, the necessary steps are being taken," Yadav said, responding to news agency ANI's question on why air quality remains severe despite these measures. He added that the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) is closely watching meteorological conditions and taking steps based on its assessments.