Delhi's air quality 'severe' for second day in a row

Air pollution in the national capital was recorded in the “severe” category on Wednesday morning for the second consecutive day.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) reading at 9 am stood at 414, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The city witnessed the worst air quality this season on Tuesday, with the AQI plunging into the “severe” category at 423.

The Central Government invoked stricter anti-pollution measures under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the wake of the deteriorating air quality.

According to the CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 to 100 "satisfactory", 101 to 200 "moderate", 201 to 300 "poor", 301 to 400 "very poor", and 401 to 500 "severe".

Since Diwali, the national capital's air quality has consistently remained in the "poor" or "very poor" category, occasionally slipping into the "severe" zone.

Meanwhile, temperatures in the city continued to dip since last week.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 10.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, 3.1 notches below the season's normal.

The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 27 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department. The weather office has also forecasted shallow fog in the day.