Delhi records slightly better quality air but pollution levels still high

The air quality in Delhi on Saturday recorded a slight improvement than what it was a day ago with Air Quality Index (AQI) at 237 which still is in ' Poor' according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

A layer of smog engulfed certain parts of the national capital. The AQI recorded on Friday was 283.

AQI today in ITI Jahangirpuri read 265 while AQI around India gate area was recorded at 237 which fell in the , in the 'poor' category. The AQI at India Gate improved slightly, being recorded at 276 on Friday.

The AQI in Anand Vihar area has worsened since Friday, as the area recorded 367 today at 8 am while it was recorded at 218 yesterday.

As the national capital battles pollution, residents also complained of breathing issues.

"I have been facing headaches and constant breathing issues because of the pollution. The government needs to start cleaning the rivers and with Chaat Puja and other festivities coming up, the government needs to start taking action," said Kalyani Twiari, a resident.

Rakesh Kumar, another resident also raised concerns and said, "If this is the condition before Diwali, then how scary is it going to get after Diwali? The pollution has been increasing day by day here. The government needs to take action on this."

Earlier on Friday, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai had announced that the government will monitor hotspots across Delhi through drones, adding that his government is working day and night to control the pollution.

He also visited the Wazirpur industrial area, which is one of the 13 hotspots in the city.

Speaking to mediapersons, Rai said, "As we had announced a winter action plan to control winter pollution, in that winter action plan, different measures are being taken to control pollution, to control vehicle pollution, to control biomass burning. The Aam Aadmi Party government is working day and night. But as you all know in our 13 hotspots, the level of pollution is higher than the normal AQI level in Delhi.

Therefore, this time we decided that we would monitor hotspots through drones and under that, today Wazirpur is one of our 13 hot spots. Here today the drone has been piloted by the panel agency."

Notably, several incidents of stubble burning were also seen in some parts of Haryana and Punjab despite Supreme Court's criticism against the state government for their failure to take sufficient action against the issue.

Incidents of stubble burning were seen in Kaithal district and on Karnal-Jind road area on Friday.