New Delhi [India], January 17 (ANI): Delhi's air quality persisted in the 'very poor' category on Saturday with a recorded AQI of 368, a slight jump from the 354 AQI recorded on Friday. The slight jump comes a day after stage 3 of the Graded Action Response Plan (GRAP) was reimposed in the national capital region as a proactive measure to deal with the further deterioration of the air quality.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), multiple areas recorded their AQI above 350. With Anand Vihar recording 350 AQI, Ashok Vihar at 385 AQI, Burari crossing at 360 all stayed in the 'very poor' category.

Meanwhile, Chandani Chowk and ITO fared a bit worse, recording an AQI of 427 and 405, respectively, being in the 'severe' category.

Delhi's IGI airport too had recorded its AQI in the 'very poor' category at 304 AQI. Whereas the college area of IIT Delhi also recorded 313 AQI.

The deteriorating air quality in Chandani chowk and ITO comes amid sportspersons raising concerns about the conditions for their sports tournament. Danish shuttler, Anders Antonsen, had withdrawn from the badminton tournament India Open 2026, citing the severe air pollution. Anders said he hopes New Delhi's air quality will improve later this year, when the national capital will host the BWF World Championships.

Meanwhile, visibility has been affected across the region as cold wave conditions continued to prevail in the national capital and dense fog enveloped large parts of the city. The dense fog around the airport area also led to certain flight delays due to the reduced visibility.

However, there has been a slight improvement in minimum temperature, which stood at 7 degrees Celsius on Saturday morning, compared to 4 degrees Celsius recorded on Friday.

In view of the air quality, a nine-point action plan as per Stage-III of the extant GRAP is applicable with immediate effect, in the entire NCR. The nine-point action plan includes steps to be implemented/ ensured by different agencies, including the Pollution Control Boards of NCR and DPCC. (ANI)