Delhi air quality in ‘very poor’ category, AQI touches 370

Delhi breathed very poor air on Friday as the Air Quality Index AQI was recorded at 370 a marginal drop from 391 the day before according to the Central Pollution Control Board CPCBEarlier officials predicted that the air quality could slip into the severe categoryAccording to the CPCB an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 to 200 moderate 201 to 300 poor 301 to 400 very poor and 401 to 500 severeA total of 23 monitoring stations in Delhi recorded very poor air quality while 13 recorded severe pollution levels the CPCBs Sameer app showedWazirpur recorded the highest AQI at 442 R K Puram Bawana Anand Vihar Jahangir Puri and Rohini recorded readings above 400The city had recorded an AQI of 391 at 4 pm on November 20 Despite the slight improvement the citys air quality continued to remain in the very poor categoryAccording to CPCB data IGI Airport T3 recorded an AQI of 307 while ITO recorded 378 The Air Quality Index at Punjabi Bagh stood at 379According to AQI categorisation 050 is good 51100 satisfactory 101200 moderate 201300 poor 301400 very poor and 401500 severeAreas such as India Gate Akshardham and Kartavya Path were engulfed in dense smog on Friday morningDelhi recorded a minimum temperature of 112 degrees Celsius 11 notches below normal according to the India Meteorological Department IMDThe relative humidity stood at 97 per centThe IMD has forecast mainly clear skies during the day The maximum temperature is expected to settle at 27 degrees CelsiusMeanwhile the Delhi High Court on Wednesday told the Delhi Government that schoolchildren should not be made to play outdoor sports during the highly polluted winter months from November to January Justice Sachin Datta while hearing a plea filed by minor students said the authorities were failing to protect childrens health and must change the annual sports calendar so that no outdoor events are held during these toxic monthsAdditionally the Supreme Court directed that construction workers who have been out of work since the implementation of GRAP3 in Delhi Punjab Haryana and Rajasthan must be provided a subsistence allowanceHearing the air pollution case a bench led by Chief Justice of India CJI BR Gavai directed the governments of the aforesaid states to implement preventive measures to reduce air pollution and to ensure that their reviews are regularly conducted The Supreme Court has also stated that matters concerning air pollution must be listed monthlyIn view of the deteriorating air quality in the national capital the Graded Response Action Plan GRAP III was implemented on November 11 across the national capital by the Commission for Air Quality Management CAQM The measures aim to control emissions through stricter restrictions on construction vehicular movement and industrial operations