Air pollution level increases in Delhi, eight stations in red zone

New Delhi: A day ahead of Diwali, air pollution increased considerably in the national capital on Wednesday with as many as eight monitoring stations recording 'very poor' quality air.

Delhi recorded an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 278 at 9 am, up from 268 recorded a day earlier.

The city's overall AQI remained in the 'poor' category -- a marginal improvement seen from Tuesday due to favourable wind speed after several days of 'very poor' quality air.

On Monday, Delhi recorded an AQI of 304 and it was 359 on Sunday.

An AQI between zero 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'.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board, out of the 36 monitoring stations which reported data, eight -- Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Aya Nagar, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Vivek Vihar and Wazirpur -- recorded "very poor" category AQI in the morning.

Meanwhile, temperatures have yet to start dropping. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 21 degrees Celsius, 4.9 notches above the normal for this time of the season.

The humidity level stood at 83 per cent at 8 am. The city would see mainly clear skies during the day with the maximum temperature expected to hover around 36 degrees Celsius.