Delhi residents woke up to ‘severe’ air quality on Thursday morning (November 14), a day after the national capital recorded the worst AQI in the country, with dense fog blanketing the NCR, reducing visibility.

Industrial activities and vehicular traffic are significant contributors to air pollution in the city, along with rampant construction. For the past many years, every year ahead of winter the air quality in Delhi has become hazardous.

Delhi's air quality turned 'severe' for the first time this season on Wednesday, with the AQI soaring to 418. In comparison, the national capital's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) -- recorded at 4 pm every day -- stood at 334 on Tuesday.

Delhi and its neighbouring cities are experiencing pollution levels that are at least 30-35 times the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Every year, De

On Thursday morning, Delhi's air quality hit severe levels, with AQI readings reaching as high as 473 in some areas. Despite the hazardous level, the CAQM opted to monitor conditions further before implementing Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

Residents of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and nearby areas awoke to a thick layer of smog on Wednesday, which brought visibility down to near-zero levels. The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi stayed in the ‘very poor’ range,