Poor air quality continued to choke the city for a second day in a row as the pollutant measuring indicator — air quality index (AQI) — increased to 263 (poor) on Friday, making it the most polluted day in 2018 and the worst since last Diwali. The System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said high pollution levels are expected to continue over the weekend and predicted AQI levels at 239 (poor) for Saturday. “After day temperatures were as high as 36 degrees Celsius earlier this week, the sudden drop in temperatures and calm winds from Thursday onwards allowed pollutant particles to get suspended close to the surface due to the process of inversion. From Monday onwards, air quality is expected to improve,” said Gufran Beig, project director, SAFAR. Six of 10 locations where air qualify is monitored recorded ‘very poor’ AQI.

Source: Hindustan Times February 02, 2018 18:56 UTC