Overview
- Delhi’s city-average AQI was in the high 360s on Thursday with many monitoring stations reporting readings in the ‘severe’ band above 400 and some local hotspots exceeding 450.
- Decision Support System modelling and satellite data attribute roughly 16–20% of the city’s pollution to crop‑residue burning in Punjab and Haryana, with thousands of fires detected since October.
- Authorities invoked Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan and the CAQM issued show‑cause notices to district officials in several Punjab districts for enforcement lapses in preventing stubble burning.
- Meteorological forecasts from IITM and the Air Quality Early Warning System warn conditions could worsen into the 'severe' category around Nov 6–7 because of weak winds and a low ventilation index.
- Residents face health risks from high PM2.5 levels and can expect expanded restrictions on construction, older vehicles and generator use as officials step up monitoring and targeted cleanup measures.