Overview
- Delhi’s 24-hour AQI hit 366 on Sunday before easing to roughly 316–326 on Monday morning, yet multiple stations such as Wazirpur, Burari, Vivek Vihar, Chandni Chowk and RK Puram recorded ‘severe’ readings at times.
- The Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System projects a ‘severe’ day on Tuesday for the capital, with conditions likely to return to ‘very poor’ on Wednesday.
- Official bulletins attribute the spike to weak or calm winds and poor ventilation trapping PM2.5, with Delhi’s transport emerging as a leading contributor and farm-fire smoke still relatively low so far.
- The Commission for Air Quality Management has not triggered GRAP Stage 3 despite AQI breaches of 350 that the Supreme Court last year said should prompt the tougher measures, drawing criticism from experts.
- In Pakistan, Lahore was reported among the world’s most polluted cities with overall ‘very unhealthy’ to ‘hazardous’ readings, extremely high local hotspots, revised school timings and strong health advisories to limit outdoor exposure.