Delhi-NCR chokes as pollution stays ‘severe’, AQI crosses 400 in many areas

Delhi-NCR awoke on Saturday to a suffocating blanket of smog, as the Air Quality Index (AQI) once again slipped into the dreaded ‘severe’ category. The morning sky resembled a grey wall, with buildings, roads and even familiar landmarks fading into a toxic haze.

The Air Quality Early Warning System put Delhi’s AQI at 386 at 5:30 am, while private monitor AQI.in delivered an even grimmer reading of 470 — pollution levels equivalent to smoking 12 cigarettes a day, experts warned.

Across the city, CPCB monitors painted a picture of choking air: Ashok Vihar at 415, Chandni Chowk at 419, Bawana 441, Jahangirpuri 422, ITO 418, Mundka 426, Rohini 423, Wazirpur 447, and Siri Fort soaring to an alarming 495. Neighbourhood after neighbourhood remained trapped in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ zone, leaving residents with burning eyes, itchy throats, and a sinking dread that the toxic air had nowhere to go.

The Early Warning System attributed the wide variation in readings to differences in local monitoring conditions and pollutant parameters — yet the overall message remained the same: Delhi was breathing poison.

With pollution levels refusing to ease, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has kept Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in force across Delhi-NCR. This means strict curbs on construction work, brick kilns, stone crushers and other high-emission activities — measures intended to slow the city’s spiral into unbreathable air.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court stepped in once again, seeking accountability from Punjab and Haryana. A bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai ordered both state governments to submit status reports on efforts to curb stubble burning — a stubborn contributor to the capital region’s seasonal air crisis. The court noted the grim irony: despite GRAP restrictions, the air continued to worsen.

As the toxic fog thickened over Delhi, residents were left with no sunrise to greet — only a long, grey morning that clung to the city like a warning.

With IANS inputs