Air quality across Delhi continued to deteriorate a day after Diwali, slipping into the 'severe' category in parts of the capital in the early hours of Monday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported by news agency ANI. The monitoring station at ITO recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 406 at around 4:20 a.m., placing it in the 'severe' band.

Source: ANI

Other central Delhi stations were close behind. Rajiv Chowk clocked an AQI of 381 at 1:30 a.m. and the area around South Extension registered 360 at 4:00 a.m., ANI reported, as a thick layer of smog covered large parts of the city and reduced visibility on Monday morning.

Source: ANI

406AQI at ITO, 4:20 a.m. Monday (severe)
376Delhi's average AQI on Diwali Sunday
381AQI at Rajiv Chowk, 1:30 a.m. Monday
460Approx. peak reading at Jahangirpuri on Sunday evening

Monday's readings continue a slide that ran through the festival weekend. Delhi's average AQI stood at 376 on Sunday, up from 369 a day earlier, and Jahangirpuri recorded one of the city's highest readings, around 460, on Sunday evening, according to CPCB data compiled in Monday morning reports. Under the CPCB scale, an AQI of 301 to 400 is 'very poor' and 401 to 500 is 'severe'.

Source: Dainik News Live (CPCB data)

Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) remains in force across Delhi-NCR, bringing the restrictions that apply when air quality turns severe. The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi has forecast that the capital's air could stay in the 'severe' category for several days from Monday, November 9, the reports said.

Source: ANI / Dainik News Live

What happens next

With the early-warning system expecting 'severe' air to persist for several days, residents — especially children, the elderly and people with respiratory conditions — are advised to limit prolonged outdoor exertion while GRAP Stage III curbs remain in force across Delhi-NCR.