Air quality in Delhi remains severe, AQI reaches 533

New Delhi, Nov 06: The air quality in Delhi on Saturday remained in the severe category with the AQI being recorded at 553. According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality forecast agency SAFAR, Delhi's air quality index (AQI) continued its upward trend and stood at 533 at 6 AM today.

Air Quality Index (AQI) from Delhi - PM10 in Connaught Place at 654, PM 2.5 at 628; PM10 is at 382 and PM2.5 at 341 near Janta Mantar and PM2.5 is at 374 near ITO

An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe', while the AQI above 500 falls in the severe plus category.

Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday said that Delhi's air quality had deteriorated due to a surge in farm fires and some people bursting firecrackers on purpose on Diwali despite a ban on it.

He alleged that the BJP made people burst firecrackers on Diwali on Thursday.

Last year, the share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution had peaked at 42 per cent on November 5. In 2019, crop residue burning accounted for 44 per cent of Delhi's PM2.5 pollution on November 1.

The contribution of stubble burning to Delhi's PM2.5 concentration was 32 per cent on Diwali last year as compared to 19 per cent in 2019.

A thick layer of acrid smog engulfed the Delhi-NCR region on Friday following the rampant bursting of firecrackers on Diwali night amid a rapid increase in fumes from stubble burning.

Ahead of the festive season, the Delhi government had announced a complete ban on firecrackers till January 1, 2022. It ran an aggressive campaign against the sale and use of firecrackers.