Delhi recorded 'severe' air quality for a second consecutive day on Thursday as dense fog continued to shroud the city along with other parts of north India. Most of the stations in the national capital logged AQI well above the 400 mark, with overall AQI at 432 as of 6 a.m. on Thursday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
On Wednesday, the city recorded air quality in the 'severe' category for the first time this season as AQI stood at 418 at 4 pm, up from 334 the previous day.
The pollution control board attributed the deteriorating air quality to an "unprecedentedly dense" fog that wrapped Delhi-NCR and several other parts of north India and described it as an "episodic event."
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", 401 and 450 "severe" and above 450 "severe-plus"
| Station | AQI |
| Alipur | 426 |
| Anand Vihar | 473 |
| Ashok Vihar | 473 |
| Bawana | 457 |
| Burari Crossing | 457 |
| CRRI Mathura Road | 402 |
| DTU | 393 |
| Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range | 425 |
| Dwarks Sector-8 | 456 |
| IGI Airport (T3) | 439 |
| IBHAS, Dilshad Garden | 393 |
| ITO | 426 |
| Jahangirpuri | 469 |
| Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium | 416 |
| Lodhi Road | 388 |
| Dhyan Chand Stadium | 441 |
| Mandir Marg | 442 |
| Mundka | 462 |
| NSIT Dwarka | 428 |
| Najafgarh | 463 |
| Narela | 441 |
| Nehru Nagar | 464 |
| New Moti Bagh | - |
| North Campus, DU | 427 |
| Okhla Phase-2 | 443 |
| Patparganj | 473 |
| Punjabi Bagh | 460 |
| Pusa, DPCC | 413 |
| Pusa, IMD | 423 |
| RK Puram | 461 |
| Rohini | 454 |
| Shadipur | 432 |
| Siri Fort | 442 |
| Sonia Vihar | 452 |
| Sri Aurobindo Marg | 364 |
| Vivek Vihar | 470 |
| Wazirpur | 468 |
The Commission of Air Quality Management has said that the pollutant concentration is expected to show a declining trend from Thursday onwards and the AQI is likely to move back to the "very poor" category.
Delhi witnessed its first dense fog and lowest daytime temperature of the season so far on Wednesday, trapping pollutants. The maximum temperature in Delhi (Safdarjung) showed a sharp decline from 32.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday to 27.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.
As per the India Meteorological Department, "dense to very dense fog" is very likely to prevail in night/early morning hours in isolated pockets
of Punjab till Saturday.
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan are also expected to see fog on Thursday and Friday.