Delhi`s air quality beyond `severe` as stubborn dusty haze persists

Several areas in the city reported alarming levels of pollution for the second consecutive day.

New Delhi: A day after air quality in the city reached hazardous levels, Delhi residents woke up to yet another dusty morning on Thursday.

Morning readings from most air quality monitoring stations across NCR showed that PM 2.5 levels remained in either the poor or hazardous categories. In several places, however, levels went beyond the severe - which is the maximum pollution level. As per AQICN's collated data, RK Puram and the area around Sonia Vihar water treatment plant were the worst with readings maxed out at 999 at around 0200 hours on Thursday. Other areas like DTU (892), Satyawati College (812), Rohini (787) and DITE Okhla (741) also had air quality in the hazardous levels but combined figures brought the overall category down to 'poor'.

It is reported that the current conditions are likely to last till Friday with the Environment Ministry blaming dust storms from Rajasthan for choking Delhi and NCR. On Wednesday,  major construction agencies, municipal corporations and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) were instructed to ensure water sprinkling around the city.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) also convened an urgent meeting of the Task Force regarding the implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) today and issued necessary directions to contain local dust sources.

(With inputs from PTI)