Delhi's air quality turns "very poor"

NEW DELHI, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The quality of air above the Indian capital Delhi deteriorated on Tuesday to the "Very Poor" category, from the "Poor" category recorded earlier, mainly due to the bursting of firecrackers by people to celebrate the Diwali festival.

According to the data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) on Tuesday, the overall air quality index (AQI) over Delhi in terms of PM2.5 stood at 353, which falls in the "Very Poor" category.

An AQI between 0 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".

Despite a ban imposed by the Supreme Court of India, bursting of high-decibel and smoke-emitting firecrackers continued till late on the night intervening Monday and Tuesday.

Air pollution levels normally rise in Delhi during winter months. Construction and demolition activities, burning of stubble by farmers, and traffic emissions, are among the reasons cited for air pollution in Delhi.