Delhi's air quality remains 'very poor'; light rain, haze likely on Tuesday
New Delhi (PTI): The air quality in the national capital remained in the 'very poor' category on Monday. A blanket of haze lingered over the city through the morning and afternoon hours, reducing visibility.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 301 at 4 pm.
Data from the CPCB's Sameer app -- a mobile application that provides hourly updates on AQI -- showed that at 6 pm, 22 out of the 38 monitoring stations across the city recorded 'very poor' air quality. Anand Vihar was the most polluted area with an AQI of 395, followed by Wazirpur at 385. However, no station reported a 'severe' level of pollution.
Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in the city settled at 29.5 degrees Celsius, 1.3 degrees above the seasonal average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). THe minimum temperature was recorded at 17.3 degrees Celsius, 0.1 degrees above normal.
Humidity levels fluctuated between 94 per cent and 58 per cent during the day.
According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology's Decision Support System for Air Quality Management, transport accounted for 13.7 per cent of the city's pollution, while neighbouring NCR regions such as Ghaziabad contributed 10.6 per cent, Meerut 4.8 per cent, and Delhi's local emissions 3.6 per cent. Other sources contributed nearly 20 per cent to the pollution load.
Satellite data from October 26 showed 122 stubble-burning incidents in Punjab, eight in Haryana, and 186 in Uttar Pradesh.
For Tuesday, the IMD has forecast a generally cloudy sky with mist or haze in the morning and the possibility of one or two spells of very light rain or drizzle. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 29 and 18 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Health experts have urged residents to minimise outdoor exposure during high pollution hours, particularly early mornings and late evenings.
"Winter air becomes denser, trapping pollutants that irritate the respiratory tract and worsen conditions like asthma and allergies," said Dr Hinal Shah, Consultant Biochemist at Agilus Diagnostics. He recommended the use of N95 masks and HEPA air purifiers to reduce health risks.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
