Delhi Air Pollution: Delhi's air quality was recorded in the 'very poor' category on Thursday morning, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 321, just a day after increased wind speed brought a slight improvement. The national capital's Anand Vihar, where a huge crowd gathered to catch buses and trains to reach their hometown ahead of Chhath Puja, witnessed 317 AQI this morning.

Earlier on Wednesday, the AQI had surpassed 400 in one location in Delhi, which is considered 'severe'. This caused significant breathing difficulties for people.

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34 Locations In 'Very Poor' Category

Of the 58 monitoring stations that recorded data on Wednesday, only one station was in the 'severe' category, 34 were in the 'very poor' category, 22 in the 'poor' category and only one in the 'moderate' category.

The transport sector is expected to be the largest contributor to pollution on Thursday, while the impact of stubble burning is anticipated to increase on Friday, potentially worsening air quality further over the next few days, according to Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) models.

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According to the Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi, the particulate matter concentration in the air - PM2.5 and PM10 - is also set to see an increase for the next two days.

As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as 'good', 51-100 as 'satisfactory', 101-200 as 'moderate', 201-300 as 'poor', 301-400 as 'very poor' and 401-500 as 'severe'.

The air quality monitoring station in the Delhi Cantonment area recorded 'moderate' air quality, with an average AQI of 117 on Wednesday. The city's average AQI deteriorated from 299 on Tuesday to 313 on Wednesday.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as 'good', 51 and 100 as 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 as 'moderate', 201 and 300 as 'poor', 301 and 400 as 'very poor', and 401 and 500 as 'severe'. PM10 was the predominant pollutant in the national capital on Wednesday.

Top Pollution Contributors:

According to the Decision Support System (DSS) for Delhi, the transport sector is set to be the largest contributor to the city's pollution on Tuesday, accounting for 17 per cent.

In contrast, stubble burning is expected to contribute only 7% on Wednesday, but projections suggest that this contribution could spike to 20% by Thursday.

Satellite data on stubble burning revealed that 927 incidents of residue burning were detected across six states on Tuesday. Of these, 345 incidents were reported in Punjab, 14 in Haryana, 119 in Uttar Pradesh, 64 in Rajasthan, nine in Uttarakhand and 376 in Madhya Pradesh.

(With PTI Inputs)