Delhi's air quality deteriorates sharply ahead of Diwali, with Anand Vihar's condition the worst.:

News Topical, Digital Desk : Delhi's air quality has deteriorated even before Diwali. Five monitoring stations in Delhi recorded air quality in the "very poor" category on Wednesday (October 15), with the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeding 300. Delhi has 40 air quality monitoring stations, of which data is available for 38. According to the data, five of these stations recorded an AQI in the "very poor" category, with Anand Vihar recording the highest AQI (345), followed by DU North Campus (307), CRRI Mathura Road (307), Dwarka Sector 8 (314), and Wazirpur (325).

AQI poor at 20 centres

On Wednesday, 20 stations recorded an AQI in the "poor" category, while 13 stations recorded an AQI in the "moderate" category. According to Decision Support System (DSS) data, Delhi's AQI on Tuesday was 201, which falls in the "poor" category. Transport emissions were the largest contributor to pollution, accounting for 19.8 percent of total emissions.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor' and 401 and 500 'severe'. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature in the capital on Wednesday was recorded at 18.3 degrees Celsius, which is 1.3 degrees below normal. The IMD said that the relative humidity at 8:30 am was 89 percent.

Green crackers will be burnt in Delhi

The sale of green crackers will be permitted in Delhi from October 18th to 21st. Only crackers with QR codes should be sold. The time for bursting crackers will be limited to 6 AM to 7 AM and 8 PM to 10 PM on the day before and on Diwali. The Supreme Court delivered this ruling on Wednesday. On October 10th, it had reserved its order on petitions seeking permission to manufacture and sell green crackers in Delhi-NCR.