Delhi Air Quality Hits 312 AQI on Friday

New Delhi residents awoke to hazardous air quality on Friday, November 7, as the national capital recorded an overall Air Quality Index of 312 in the very poor category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. The reading marked a deterioration from Thursday's average of 271, placing Delhi as the most polluted city in India, with nearby National Capital Region towns like Ghaziabad at 314 and Noida at 306 following closely.

Data from the CPCB showed that 29 of the city's 38 monitoring stations reported very poor conditions, with levels exceeding 300. Among the worst affected areas were Bawana at 366, Chandni Chowk at 354, and Anand Vihar at 332, while PM2.5 emerged as the primary pollutant across the board. Other stations, such as Lodhi Road at 224 and IGI Airport at 259, fell into the poor category, but the overall trend indicated widespread exposure to unhealthy air.

The spike in pollution stems from a combination of factors, including crop residue burning in neighboring states and stagnant weather conditions. Satellite imagery detected 351 stubble-burning incidents in Punjab, 35 in Haryana, and 200 in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, contributing an estimated 8.6 percent...