The Air Quality Index in several parts of Delhi worsened to the “very poor” category on Sunday, a day before Diwali.

The overall average AQI at 4.30 pm stood at 295, which is categorised as “poor”, according to data from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.

However, the AQI in several areas was in the “very poor” category, including Lodhi Road, where the index stood at 301, Nehru Nagar at 316, Patparganj at 311, Punjabi Bagh at 311, RK Puram at 322, Dwarka at 324 and Rohini at 302.

Anand Vihar reported the highest pollution levels at 427, which falls in the “severe” category.

An index value between 0 and 50 indicates “good” air quality, between 51 and 100 indicates “satisfactory” air quality and between 101 and 200 indicates “moderate” air quality. As the index value increases further, air quality deteriorates. A value of 201 and 300 means “poor” air quality, while between 301 and 400 indicates “very poor” air.

Between 401 and 450 indicates “severe” air pollution, while anything above the 450 threshold is termed “severe plus”.

Air quality deteriorates sharply in the winter months in Delhi, which is often ranked the world’s most polluted capital. Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, along with falling temperatures, decreased wind speeds and emissions from industries and coal-fired plants contribute to the problem.

Amid the rising pollution levels, water sprinklers have been deployed near the India Gate area, ANI reported.

On Tuesday, the Commission for Air Quality Management imposed Stage 1 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan to control pollution in the region, which remains in place currently.

GRAP is a set of incremental anti-pollution measures that are triggered to prevent further worsening of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi-NCR region.

A day later, the Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted the sale and use of green firecrackers in the Delhi-NCR region, subject to conditions.

Green firecrackers are less polluting than regular ones as they are made with modified formulations and do not contain certain harmful elements such as lithium, arsenic, barium and lead.

Accordingly, the court allowed sales of green firecrackers between October 18 and 21. It also restricted such sales to designated locations and limited the use of these firecrackers between 6 am-7 am and 8 pm-10 pm.

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