Delhi's AQI plunges to 'hazardous' category, people complain of itchy throat and watery eyes

The concentration of Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 was measured beyond 999 per cubic metre at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium while it was found above 400 per cubic metre at neighbouring cities of Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Noida.

As per the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the AQI is unlikely to improve until Sunday.

According to SAFAR, the air quality in Delhi will not improve until Sunday evening (November 7). The improvement would, however, just fluctuate in the 'Very Poor' category.

"The overall air quality of Delhi is plunged into the upper end of very poor category as predicted by SAFAR (within 5% accuracy). It will continue to fall now and may enter at the edge of very poor to Severe category by tonight even without any emission from firecrackers," the SAFAR had said on Thursday.

"If firecrackers are burned even 50 percent of last year then PM2.5 will enter SEVERE category by midnight and shoot up rapidly by tomorrow early morning with AQI even crossing 500+," it had warned.

Despite the ban, people reportedly burst firecrackers in many areas leading to the degradation of the air quality, which had worsened due to the farm fires.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.