Delhi woke up under a thick blanket of toxic smog on Friday as the city's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) breached the 400 mark to enter the 'severe' category, a day after it had stood at 321 in the 'very poor' band. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) put Delhi's AQI at 403 at 7:30 am on Friday, up 82 points in 24 hours, and later readings during the morning were reported as high as 419.

Source: Ei Samay (CPCB data)

This is the first time Delhi's air has turned severe since January 19, when the AQI had reached 410. On Thursday the 24-hour average AQI was 350, already the highest since Diwali, after readings of 376 on November 8, 344 on November 9, 299 on November 10 and 313 on November 11, according to CPCB data cited by Hindustan Times.

Source: Hindustan Times via Inshorts

More than 30 stations in severe zone; IIT Delhi worst

Out of the 58 to 59 monitoring stations reporting data on Friday morning, 32 to 33 recorded 'severe' air quality. IIT Delhi recorded the highest AQI at about 487 to 488, followed by Chandni Chowk at 476, and ITO also crossed 450, India Today and ANI reported. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations more than doubled in 24 hours, and smog combined with fog reduced visibility across the capital.

Stage III restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), invoked by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on November 6 when the AQI touched 382, remain in force across Delhi-NCR. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a fog alert for parts of Delhi, and forecasters at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology expect air quality to stay between 'very poor' and 'severe' until around November 16 as winds weaken.

Source: BizzBuzz (ANI)

NASA satellite data detected 4,107 farm fires across Punjab and Haryana between October 1 and November 12, a seasonal factor in the capital's post-Diwali pollution spike. The Delhi government began water sprinkling in parts of the city in response, the Times of India reported, while the Aam Aadmi Party criticised the BJP over the spike and questioned CPCB data — a political dispute that does not change the board's published readings.

Friday's severe reading marks a clear escalation from Thursday, when AQI 321 kept Delhi in the 'very poor' category with GRAP-III curbs and hybrid classes in neighbouring Noida and Ghaziabad. Health advisories for severe air urge residents — especially children, the elderly and people with respiratory illness — to limit outdoor exertion until conditions improve.