Delhi’s skies turned a deeper shade of gray on Friday as air pollution levels edged perilously toward the severe threshold, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) surpassing 400 at numerous monitoring stations across the capital. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) revealed the city’s overall AQI at 384 by 6 a.m., locking it firmly in the very poor zone and signaling a marked decline from the previous day’s figures.
Of the 39 stations tracked in Delhi, 19 now register readings in the severe category, underscoring the crisis’s breadth. The problem intensified in neighboring Noida, where virtually every station reported severe pollution levels, dragging the area’s overall AQI into that dreaded bracket. Greater Noida hovered at 380, Ghaziabad at 351, and Gurugram at 318—all entrenched in very poor territory—while the broader Delhi-NCR region exhibited widespread deterioration compared to Thursday.
Hotspots in the capital bore the brunt of the surge. Anand Vihar clocked in at 411, Bawana at 414, Chandni Chowk at 407, Narela at 407, JLN Stadium at 401, Burari at 402, Ashok Vihar at 417, and Aya Nagar at 402, each crossing into severe territory. Other sites, such as ITO (396), Alipur (355), IGI Airport (360), and Najafgarh (361), teetered on the upper end of very poor. This marks the 14th consecutive day of subpar air quality in the city, trapping residents in a persistent haze.
The NCR’s plight mirrored Delhi’s. In Noida, stations at Sector 1 (405), Sector 62 (359), Sector 116 (438), and Sector 125 (422) all fell into very poor or severe ranges. Greater Noi’s Knowledge Park-III (362) and Knowledge Park-V (399) stations stayed mired in very poor conditions. Ghaziabad presented a patchy outlook: Loni escalated to severe at 425, Indirapuram lingered at 385 (very poor), Vasundhara at 305 (very poor), and Sanjay Vihar offered slim relief at 290 (poor).
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Gurugram and Faridabad provided relative bright spots. Gurugram’s monitors split evenly, with two in poor and two in very poor categories. Faridabad managed just one poor reading, with the rest in moderate levels.
The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi had anticipated this stretch, projecting very poor conditions through November 28, with potential swings to severe over the next six days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts overcast skies and fog blanketing the capital all day, with lows of 8-10 degrees Celsius and highs nearing 27 degrees. Wednesday’s morning chill of 8 degrees Celsius—the season’s coldest and the lowest November reading since 2022, per IMD—only compounds the stagnant air trapping pollutants.
As stubble-burning season wanes and vehicular emissions persist, urgent measures like construction halts and odd-even vehicle rules loom, but for now, masks and indoor vigilance remain the grim norm for Delhiites navigating this annual scourge.
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