Air quality slips into severe zone

The Capital's air quality plunged sharply into the deep red zone on Friday - the third time this month - and clocked a 24-hour air quality index of 409 (severe) at 4pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Bureau's (CPCB) national bulletin.

The drop was by 77 points compared to the "very poor" reading of 332 on Thursday. Despite the deterioration, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) refrained from invoking Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) arguing that forecasts showed relief from bad air over the weekend.

The deterioration belied predictions by the early warning air quality forecasting system, which on Thursday said the air quality was unlikely to dip into the "severe" zone for the rest of the month.

The two other days when AQI was "severe" this month were January 24 (409) and January 14 (447). It has been "very poor" between 300 and 400 for 22 days this month and "poor" between 200 and 300 on one day.

CAQM said the deterioration was down to a combination of factors, including low temperature and fog.