Delhi continued to choke for the fifth consecutive day as the air quality in the national capital remained in 'Severe' category on Saturday.
However, the national capital witnessed a dip in pollution levels on Saturday morning.
The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi at 10 am on Saturday stood at 404 against an AQI of 467 on Friday. The AQI in Faridabad was 427, Ghaziabad 424, Greater Noida 377, Noida 411 and Gurgaon 420.
An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'.
According to earlier forecast, the air quality was expected to become better after November 16.
Advertisement
All schools in Delhi have been ordered to stay closed till today due to the pollution.
Meanwhile, the odd-even traffic rationing rule, implemented by the Delhi government to tackle rising air pollution, concluded on Friday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said a decision on extending it further will be taken on November 18.
The Supreme Court Friday summoned chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to know about steps taken by them to reduce air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
The top court observed that odd-even vehicle scheme in Delhi has not been effective in reducing pollution level and the air quality index (AQI) has deteriorated further.
Advertisement
"Delhi is suffering badly. The AQI inside the room is above 600 today. Outside the room, it is worse. How do people breathe?" the bench asked.
The Centre told the bench that it is examining the feasibility of putting up smog towers to reduce pollution in Delhi.
Meanwhile, top officials of the Environment Ministry, DDA and municipal commissioners stayed away from a key meeting of a parliamentary panel on Friday on the issue of severe pollution in the national capital. Only four MPs turned up for the meeting.
