New Delhi, Nov 1 (Representative) The air quality in the national capital on Monday slipped to the “very poor category,” as the Air Quality Index reached 303, according to the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). The India Meteorological Department in its Bulletin for Delhi and NCR predicted that the air quality will deteriorate further in the coming days. “The air quality is likely to deteriorate on November 5 and 6 significantly and may reach in the upper end of Very Poor category. PM2.5 to be the predominant pollutant,” it said. According to SAFAR, agricultural residue burning emissions account for around eight percent of PM2.5 emissions.
“The crops residue burning fire points increased significantly in Punjab (2,895), Haryana (353) and UP (170) on Sunday,” it added. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 30 degree Celsius, while the minimum temperature is predicted at 14 degrees in the city. However, SAFAR has forecast that air quality will “improve to the upper end of poor” because of a change in wind direction to westerly/south-westerly, which will reduce emissions from stubble burning travel.