Delhi air quality deteriorates on Sunday; mercury set to touch 30°C
Air quality in Delhi slips to 'very poor' levels on Sunday, while CAQM mandates stricter emission norms for industries across NCR. Mercury is set to touch 30 degrees Celsius
 "Delhi air quality deteriorates on Sunday; mercury set to touch 30°C")
Air quality deteriorated in the national capital on Sunday, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded above 250, marking a sharp rise from 198 at the same time a day earlier.
Among individual monitoring stations, Anand Vihar recorded 301, Ashok Vihar 280, ITO 192, Punjabi Bagh 274, Mundka 296, RK Puram 288 and Vivek Vihar 276.
As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards, an AQI between 0 and 50 is categorised as ‘good’, 51–100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 as ‘moderate’, 201–300 as ‘poor’, 301–400 as ‘very poor’, and 401–500 as ‘severe’.
CAQM proposes stricter emission norms
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas issued a statutory direction on Saturday proposing a more stringent particulate matter (PM) emission standard of 50 mg/Nm3 for identified industries, PTI reported.
The revised standard is expected to reduce industrial emissions and aid in curbing air pollution.
According to the direction, the maximum permissible PM emission limit for 17 categories of highly polluting industries identified by the CPCB, including red category (medium and large) air-polluting industries, food and food processing units, textile industries with boilers or thermic fluid heaters, and metal industries operating furnaces in Delhi-NCR will be capped at 50 mg/Nm3.
The new standard will come into effect for large and medium industries from August 1, and for the remaining industries from October 1.
Weather forecast for Delhi
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi is likely to witness a rise in minimum temperatures and mainly clear skies over the next few days, along with misty mornings. On Sunday, the maximum temperature is set to touch 30 degrees Celsius while the minimum is to hover around 13 degrees Celsius.
No large change in minimum temperatures is expected over the next 24 hours, followed by a rise of 2-3 degrees Celsius thereafter. Minimum temperatures are likely to remain above normal over the next six days. Maximum temperatures are also expected to stay above normal levels during this period.