Delhi residents woke up on Saturday to thick, choking smog that pushed the city’s air quality into the “severe” range. The official Air Quality Early Warning System reported an AQI of 386, while the independent monitor AQI.in put it even higher at 470. Those numbers are equivalent to smoking 12 cigarettes a day for a year, and the haze made it hard to see even the tallest buildings.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) found many neighborhoods in Delhi‑NCR experiencing “very poor” or “severe” pollution. In Ashok Vihar the AQI hit 415; on CRRI Mathura Road it was 365. Other hotspots included Burari Crossing (383), Chandni Chowk (419), Bawana (441), Jahangirpuri (422), Dwarka Sector‑8 (393), JLN Stadium (389), ITO (418), Mundka (426), Najafgarh (385), Patparganj (399), Rohini (423), Punjabi Bagh (405), Narela (418), Wazirpur (447), RK Puram (406), Siri Fort (495), Vivek Vihar (418) and Sonia Vihar (410).
The variation in readings comes from different sensors and locations. Early warnings, such as the 5:30 AM Delhi scan, help track these changes in real time.
Because pollution stays above safe levels, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has kept the city on “Stage III” of its Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Under this stage, authorities limit big construction sites, brick kilns, stone crushers, and other heavy polluters. The plan also pushes for cutting down stubble burning, a major culprit for the smog that sweeps the region.
The Supreme Court has asked the Punjab and Haryana governments to report on their progress in banning stubble burning. Chief Justice B. R. Gavai’s bench, which follows Delhi’s air‑quality struggle, recently noted that conditions are still getting worse even with the GRAP in place.
As Delhi‑NCR battles its worst smog yet, officials and citizens alike urge tighter measures to clean the air and protect public health.
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