Delhi's minimum temperature settles at 16.5 deg C; air quality 'severe'

The national capital continues to reel under the eye-stinging pollution with air quality recorded in the 'severe' category, while the minimum temperature settled at 16.5 degrees Celsius, a notch below the normal.

According to Central Pollution Control Board data, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 426 at 9.30.

The relative humidity at 8.30 am was 92 per cent, the India Meteorological Department said.

The maximum temperature on Friday is expected to settle at 31.3 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal, according to the IMD.

Anand Vihar and Jahangirpuri were the most polluted places in the capital with AQI at 471 and 485 respectively.

The areas that recorded severe AQI are Alipur (475), Ashok Vihar (470), Bawana (482), Burari (460), DTU (446), Dwarka (474), ITO (438), Mundka (476), Narela (477), Nehru Nagar (482), Patparganj (435), Rohini (474), Sonia Vihar (472), Vivek Vihar (471) and Wazirpur (475).

An AQI of above 400 is considered severe and can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing illnesses.

As many as 31 out of 36 monitoring stations recorded severe AQI, according to CPCB data at 9.10 am.

The weather office has predicted shallow fog during the day.

The Commission for Air Quality Management -- a statutory body formed in 2021 to tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR in order said state governments may take a call on the closure of educational institutions, non-emergency commercial activities and plying of vehicles on an odd-even basis.

Delhi's 24-hour average AQI stood at 450 at 4 pm on Thursday, just a notch short of the "severe plus" category.

The concentration of lung-damaging fine particles known as PM2.5 was above 470 micrograms per cubic metre, around eight times the safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre, in many areas.