Delhi gasps for breath, AQI remains in 'very poor' category

New Delhi: People residing in the national capital were breathing polluted air for the third consecutive day on Saturday with overall AQI at 326, which falls in the `very poor` category, at 9 in the morning.

At Lodhi Road, the AQI was 317 while in Chandni Chowk, the pollution level was around 346. Around IIT Delhi and Airport Terminal 3, the AQI was 319 and 328 respectively, said System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR)Residents complained of suffocation and eye irritation and urged the government to take requisite measures." 

Our marathon was cancelled a few days back because of the spike in air pollution. I feel suffocated while cycling. My children are also affected by air pollution," said a resident of the city.

In adjoining Noida, PM10 pollutants were at 291 while PM2.5 pollutants decreased to 291. According to Center-run SAFAR, Vasundhara and Ghaziabad had an AQI of 196 while Pusa`s AQI was 202.

During winter each year, most of northern India suffers from a spike in toxicity in the air due to the change in weather patterns and crop residue burning in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.