The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) which monitors the air pollution in seven stations marked the air quality of the Capital under the 'very poor' category on Saturday.
Delhi's air continued stayed under 'very poor' category even on the last day of the year. Dense fog shrouded the national Capital on Saturday morning with the minimum temperature dipping to 8.2 degrees Celsius, one notch above the season's average. 69 north-bound trains were running late while 16 have been rescheduled due to the thick fog around the Capital.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) which monitors the air pollution in seven stations marked the air quality of the Capital under the 'very poor' category on Saturday.
Nine international flights have been delayed and one has been cancelled, and three domestic flights have been delayed and two have been cancelled.
Visibility was recorded at 200 meters at 5.30 am, which subsequently improved to 400 meters by 8.30 am, a weather official said. "The maximum temperature is likely to be around 19 degrees Celsius and partly cloudy conditions will prevail through the day," the official said.
"While the temperature is expected to rise in the coming days, the capital will be engulfed in a thick fog for the next few days too," said an IMD official.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) which is prepared by the US Embassy in Delhi provides data from the Embassy and Consulate air quality monitors, along with additional data from Government of India and local government monitoring stations in New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.
The AQI on Saturday was recorded at 162, 199 and 432 at Mandir Marg, Anand Vihar, ITO respectively. While, the first two locations were marked under 'unhealthy', ITO came at a 'hazardous' level.
The agency's definition of hazardous specifies: "Serious aggravation of heart or lung disease and premature mortality in persons with cardiopulmonary disease to the elderly; serious risk of respiratory effects in general population." To put that in a better perspective, any reading above 150 is considered unhealthy; with the range 351-500 classified as 'hazardous'.
Meanwhile, doctors in the city have witnessed a spike in the number of cases of respiratory illness by 20 per cent. Cases of viral infection, cough, sneezing, respiratory tract infection and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have gone up.
"This is the worst phase for those who have prolonged illness. Those having a history of asthma and COPD are at their worst. Our out-patient department (OPD) is witnessing large number of patients having this problem," said Dr JC Suri, Professor and Head of Pulmonary Medicine at Safdarjung hospital.
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