Delhi's air quality remains in 'very poor' category

New Delhi: Delhi's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category on Friday with the AQI reaching 380, while more than 10 monitoring stations reported air quality levels in the 'severe' zone.

The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded until 4 pm daily was reported at 380 on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

CPCB's Sameer app data, which provides hourly AQI updates, showed that out of the 38 monitoring stations, 12 were in the 'severe' category with readings above 400.

These included Anand Vihar, Rohini, Punjabi Bagh, Wazirpur, Mundka, Jahangirpuri, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Narela, Nehru Nagar, and Moti Bagh.

According to AQI classifications, a 0-50 range is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'.

Meanwhile, a thick layer of mist and smog blanketed the city during morning and evening hours on Friday, with daytime temperature recorded at a seasonal low of 31.7 degrees Celsius, 2.2 degrees above normal.

The second lowest temperature of the season was recorded on November 5 at 32.1 degrees Celsius, according to Met department data.

Humidity levels on Friday fluctuated between 96 per cent and 74 per cent during the day in the national capital, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The weather office has forecast mainly clear skies for Saturday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to reach around 32 and 18 degrees Celsius, respectively.