New Delhi’s air turned sharply hazardous on Sunday, with the city-wide Air Quality Index climbing to 386 by morning, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported. The reading marked a steep jump from Saturday’s 303, pushing the capital firmly into the “very poor” zone.
Meteorologists blame calm north-westerly winds that dipped below 8 kmph overnight. The Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) explained that a ventilation index under 6,000 m²/s—combined with average speeds below 10 kmph—prevents pollutants from scattering. As a result, the agency forecasts “very poor” conditions persisting through November 4.
Seventeen monitoring stations logged “severe” levels above 400. Wazirpur topped the list at 439, while twenty others stayed above the 300 “very poor” threshold, according to the CPCB’s Sameer app.
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For context, the AQI scale labels 0-50 “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor” and 401-500 “severe”.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded a minimum temperature of 16.8°C—1.5 degrees above normal—and humidity at 79% at 8:30 a.m. Clear skies are expected during the day, with shallow night fog and a high near 31°C.
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