Slight improvement in Delhi's air quality, but still at 'very poor' levels

The past eight hours have brought some relief to the people living in the national capital region as the air quality index (AQI) on Saturday slightly improved from 'severe' to 'very poor' category, said the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

At 4 pm today, the overall AQI of Delhi docked at 365, which falls in the 'very poor' category. The AQI between the range of 51 to 100 is considered as satisfactory; 101-200 is moderate; 201-300 falls under the category of poor. While 300-400 is considered as 'very poor', levels between 401-500 fall under the 'hazardous category'.

At Dhirpur, the AQI was 235 in the morning, while in Mathura Road area it improved to 'poor' category at 304. Furthermore, AQI near Chandni Chowk, Airport, Terminal 3 and the Delhi University stood at 371, 315 and 250 respectively.

Locals especially the middle-aged people complained of breathless and fatigue and have urged the government to take requisite measures to combat the menace.

To curb air pollution, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi had announced the implementation of the Odd-Even scheme from November 4 to 15.

During the winter season each year, most of northern India suffers from a spike in toxicity in the air due to the change in weather and crop residue burning in the neighbouring states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.