• Source:JND
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Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: After a day of marginal improvement, Delhi's air quality is at it again. The quality of air in the national capital deteriorated into the 'severe' category on Wednesday morning with the air quality index (AQI) in Anand Vihar clocking at 452, in RK Puram at 433, in Punjabi Bagh at 460 and in ITO at 413.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 395 that brought a marginal improvement from the 421 recorded on Monday, as per the data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Check latest updates on Delhi NCR air pollution:

- Haryana Farmers continue to burn stubble, despite Supreme court's order to put a stop on it.

According to the Ministry of Earth Science's Air Quality Early Warning System for the Delhi-NCR, the air quality is likely to deteriorate and reach the 'severe' category on November 8. It is expected to be in the 'very poor' category on November 9 and November 10. The region is likely to experience 'very poor' to 'severe' air quality for another five to six days.

On Delhi pollution, a local said, "Smog is causing a lot of problems...There is difficulty in breathing and the government should do something..."

Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to ensure crop residue burning was stopped "forthwith", saying it cannot let "people die" due to pollution.

Several cities in neighbouring Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have also reported hazardous quality air. Ghaziabad recorded a 24-hour average AQI of 342, Gurugram 364, Noida 355, Greater Noida 457 and Faridabad 374 on Tuesday.

Amid high pollution levels in the national capital, Delhi Traffic Police has issued over 4,700 challans to vehicle owners driving without a pollution under control (PUC) certificate in the last four days, officials said on Tuesday.

The Aam Admi Party (AAP) government in Delhi misled and lied to the people in connection with the odd-even scheme to counter the deteriorating air quality in the national capital, an official release from LG's Office said. "The much-publicized odd-even scheme to fight air pollution post-Diwali that was announced by the AAP Government yesterday is nothing but an attempt to mislead people and courts to divert attention from the ongoing severe crisis in the capital caused by air pollution," the statement said.

Currently, the concentration of PM2.5 exceeds the government-prescribed safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre by seven to eight times in the capital. It was 30 to 40 times the healthy limit of 15 micrograms per cubic metre set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Stage IV of the Centre's pollution control plan called the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) came into force in Delhi on Sunday as the city's air quality plummeted to the 'severe plus' category. Under the final Stage IV of the plan, all kinds of construction work and the entry of polluting trucks into the city have been banned.