Capital’s air quality hovers close to 'severe' mark; 18 stations log above-400 AQI
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi’s air quality hovered close to the 'severe' category on Thursday as the average AQI was recorded at 391, with more than 15 monitoring stations logging readings above the 400-mark, according to the CPCB.
The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) settled at 391 -- in the 'very poor' category for the seventh consecutive day.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the average AQI stood at 392 on Wednesday, 374 on Tuesday, and 351 on Monday.
Delhi’s air quality is likely to deteriorate further, slipping into the 'severe' category in the coming days, and will remain in the 'very poor' to 'severe' range for the next six days, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Air Quality Early Warning System.
The CPCB's Sameer app -- which displays AQI readings from all monitoring stations across Delhi -- showed that out of 38 operational stations, 18 logged AQIs in the 'severe' category. These include Chandni Chowk, DTU, Bawana, Anand Vihar, Mundka, Narela and Wazirpur stations where above-400 AQI levels were recorded.
As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0–50 is 'good', 51–100 'satisfactory', 101–200 'moderate', 201–300 'poor', 301–400 'very poor' and 401–500 'severe'.
Meanwhile, the Decision Support System of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, estimated that vehicular emissions contributed 17.3 per cent to Delhi’s pollution on Thursday, while stubble burning accounted for 2.8 per cent.
For Friday, these parameters are projected to comprise 16.2 per cent and 1.8 per cent of the capital's pollutants, respectively.
Satellite imagery detected 16 farm fires in Punjab, 11 in Haryana and 115 in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the minimum temperature was recorded at 11.4 degrees Celsius, 0.9 degrees below normal, while the maximum settled at 28.2 degree celsius, 0.4 degrees above normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
For Friday, the IMD has forecast moderate fog, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to hover around 27 and 12 degrees Celsius, respectively.
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RCB beat MI by 18 runs after batters fire
Mumbai (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli blasted half-centuries as the defending champions beat Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.
Salt (78 off 36 balls) and Kohli (50 off 38 balls) stitched together a 120-run stand for the opening wicket before Patidar scored a rapid 53 off just 20 balls as RCB posted 240 for 4.
In response, Mumbai Indians were restricted to 222 for 5, with RCB spinner Suyash Sharma (2/47) putting the skids on the home side with a double strike in the eighth over, from which they could not recover.
Sherfane Rutherford top-scored for MI with an unbeaten 71 off 31 balls.
While opener Rohit Sharma appeared to be struggling with a hamstring issue and had to retire hurt on 19, his partner Ryan Rickelton made 37, while Suryakumar Yadav (33) and Hardik Pandya (40) were the other contributors for MI.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 240 for 4 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 78, Virat Kohli 50, Rajat Patidar 53, Tim David 35 not out).
Mumbai Indians: 222 for 5 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 71 not out, Ryan Rickelton 37, Hardik Pandya 40; Suyash Sharma 2/47).
