Overview
- Delhi’s AQI jumped from 279 on Wednesday to 357 on Thursday, with several stations breaching 400 into the ‘severe’ range, including Vivek Vihar and Anand Vihar, CPCB data showed.
- Fog, calm winds under 10 kmph and a low ventilation index below the 6,000 m²/s threshold trapped pollutants near the surface, cutting visibility to 800–1,000 metres at key sites.
- GRAP Stage II remains in force, NDMC doubled parking fees to discourage private vehicles, non‑BS‑VI commercial goods vehicles face entry curbs from November 1 and truck‑mounted sprinklers were deployed.
- Delhi’s cloud‑seeding trials earlier this week produced no measurable rain according to IIT‑Kanpur, while city officials cited 6–10% PM2.5 and PM10 drops in targeted areas and postponed further runs pending moisture.
- Lahore continued to top global pollution trackers with ‘hazardous’ readings, including local spikes to instrument limits, as Punjab authorities enforced anti‑smog SOPs and urged public cooperation.