Delhi continued to struggle with high pollution levels on Saturday, a day before Diwali, as the city's overall air quality index (AQI) stood at 365 in the 'very poor' category. The situation was worse in several parts of the national capital, with 21 monitoring stations reporting 'severe' air quality, according to the 7 am update on the HT Pollution Dashboard.
The dashboard, which tracks readings from monitoring stations reported by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), showed that another 30 stations were in the 'very poor' category.
Among the worst-affected locations, IIT Delhi topped the list with an AQI of 440, followed by Punjabi Bagh at 433 and Vivek Vihar at 425.
10 most polluted areas in Delhi
The following monitoring stations recorded the highest AQI levels in the latest update:
IIT Delhi – 440
Punjabi Bagh – 433
Vivek Vihar – 425
Jahangirpuri – 421
Mundka – 421
Rohini – 418
RK Puram – 414
Najafgarh – 412
Sonia Vihar – 412
Sirifort – 411
The CPCB calculates the hourly AQI at each monitoring station using a running average of readings collected over the previous 24 hours.
New monitoring stations may be lowering Delhi's AQI readings
Meanwhile, an analysis of CPCB data by Hindustan Times has raised questions about whether the addition of 13 monitoring stations on Delhi's outskirts in October has affected the city's reported pollution levels.
Delhi's AQI touched 382 on Friday, its worst reading since January 19. However, the analysis suggested that the figure could have reached 393 if the 13 newly added stations had not been included.
The new stations, installed by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), recorded PM2.5 levels around 35% lower than those at nearby older monitoring stations in similarly developed areas.
The difference was also visible in Friday's readings. Between 7 am and noon, Delhi's AQI remained between 389 and 391. However, excluding the new stations, which recorded an average AQI of around 350 at 10 am, the reading would have ranged between 401 and 403, pushing the city into the 'severe' category.
The findings come as Delhi heads into Diwali, with pollution levels already remaining high across several neighbourhoods.