NEW DELHI : After the Supreme Court banned the sale of fire-crackers in Delhi-NCR, it was expected that the air pollution in the capital and its vicinity will come down. But the cacophony of crackers and the smoke in the air have mocked the decision of the the Apex court.

SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) estimated pollution levels to further increase on Friday with the air quality reaching the ‘very poor’ mark with a predicted AQI of 303. The city’s air quality is expected to remain in the ‘poor’ category till Sunday and improve from Monday onwards. On Thursday, while Delhi recorded ‘very poor’ air quality.

According to the Air Quality Index, the level of pollution in some areas rose up to 12 times higher. RK Puram recorded the highest level of micron as 999 at 11PM, ITO 340, Shadipur 420, New Delhi Embassy 427 and Mandir Marg 427. 

AQI level from 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401 and above is severe.

Delhi has an air pollution problem. It is the 11th worst polluted city in the world, with an annual average PM2.5 measurement of 122. Average air-quality index reading for Delhi in October 2015 was considered “poor” according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index bulletin.