AQI watch: Delhi at 436; here are the worst-hit cities today, in charts

livemint.com:

The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi and the National Capital Region stayed in the “very poor" and “severe" zone on Monday morning. Of the 10 cities with the worst air quality at 11 am, four were in Haryana, and five were in Uttar Pradesh. The national capital, Delhi, recorded a slight improvement in its air quality since Sunday, with the 24-hour average AQI declining to 436 at 11 am, data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed.

But that’s no respite since any AQI value of over 400 is said to be “severe", and according to the CPCB, can affect healthy people as well, while seriously impacting those with existing diseases. For several days leading up to this, Delhi's air quality had consistently languished in the 'very poor' category, before turning "severe" on Friday, 3 November, for the first time this season. Bhiwadi in Haryana recorded the worst AQI in the country on Monday morning, at 459.

The number of stubble burning incidents, a key factor behind the pollution at this time of the year, reached this year's record of 3,230 on 5 November in Punjab, up sharply from the previous high of 1,921 on 1 November. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh recorded 109 and 64 such incidents on 5 November. The sharp increase in stubble burning incidents after 28 October has been instrumental in the worsening of the air quality in the region.