Delhi continues to see spike in pollution levels

Delhi's air quality worsens as unfavourable meteorological conditions and firecracker bursting push pollution levels to very poor category. Delhi was the most polluted city in the world on Monday, followed by Lahore and Karachi. AQI jumped from 235 to 385 in Baghpat, from 152 to 361 in Kaithal, from 180 to 380 in Bathinda. PM2.5 pollution levels at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium soared to 1,423 micrograms per cubic metre. Strict measures, including ban on construction work and entry of polluting trucks, to continue until further orders.

Air pollution worsened in Delhi amid unfavourable meteorological conditions on Tuesday morning and a relief is unlikely soon.

Based on data provided by nine out of the 40 monitoring stations in Delhi, the capital's air quality index stood at 363 — very poor category — at 8 a.m.

Rest of the monitoring stations failed to generate enough data for indexing, according to the Central Pollution Control Board's mobile application Sameer.

Squandering the relief due to rain, Delhi recorded a jump in pollution levels and a smoky haze returned on Monday after people flouted the ban on firecrackers on Deepavali night.

According to IQAir, a Swiss company that specialises in air quality monitoring, Delhi was the most polluted city in the world on Monday, followed by Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan. Mumbai and Kolkata ranked fifth and sixth among the most polluted cities in the world.

Delhi recorded its best air quality on Deepavali day in eight years on Sunday, with its 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 218 at 4 p. However, bursting of firecrackers till late Sunday night led to a spike in pollution levels amid low temperatures.

The AQI stood at 275 at 7 am on Monday and gradually rose to 358 by 4 pm.