Delhiites Thursday woke up to a ‘poor’ air quality category. At Lodhi Road, the Air Quality Index (AQI) on PM 10 level was at 202 and PM 2.5 level at 209, according to the news agency ANI. The AQI has been moving from 'very poor to severe' for the past week. Similar conditions are likely to prevail in the coming days, according to SAFAR. The MeT office has forecast overcast skies, light rain and thundershowers for Thursday as well. #Delhi: PM 10 level at 202 and PM 2.5 level at 209, both in 'Poor' category on Air Quality Index (AQI), at Lodhi Road. pic.twitter.com/7J0K8Y9LTH — ANI (@ANI) November 15, 2018 The national capital witnessed light rains on Wednesday bringing down the temperature in the city. ALSO READ | Cyclone Gaja: Navy on high alert as storm to make landfall in Tamil Nadu today afternoon Earlier, Bhure Lal, chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), recommended to the pollution watchdog CPCB that it should implement either the odd-even scheme or impose a complete ban on non-CNG private vehicles if the air pollution level in Delhi increases again. Lal reaction came on a day Delhi's air quality "improved significantly" since Diwali as overnight rains washed away larger pollutants and stubble burning in neighbouring states declined. The air quality, however, was "poor" with an AQI of 293. A couple of days ago, Lal had written to chief secretaries of Delhi and neighbouring states, asking them to consider a ban on private vehicles barring those running on CNG. In a letter to CPCB member secretary Prashant Gargava, Lal said all cities, which have similar emergency plans “like Paris or Beijing” include restrictions on private vehicles, adding that vehicles contribute as much as 40 per cent of the total emission load in Delhi and roughly 30 per cent in the region. ALSO READ | NASA to live stream the touchdown of InSight spacecraft on Mars According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, on Wednesday, 21 areas in Delhi recorded ‘very poor’ air quality while 14 areas showed ‘poor’ air quality. The PM2.5 particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres level was recorded at 175, while the PM10, particles in the air with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres, was at 280 in Delhi, the CPCB said. ALSO READ | NASA to live stream the touchdown of InSight spacecraft on Mars AQI categories

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