Rohini, RK Puram, Vivek Vihar among 10 most polluted areas in Delhi-NCR

Delhi's overall air quality index (AQI) stood at 391 on Friday, nearing the 400 mark that would classify it in the ‘severe’ category, as per the update at 12 pm on the HT Pollution Dashboard, which tracks the average readings from all monitoring stations reported by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

A man cycles along Kartavya Path, amid deteriorating air quality in New Delhi. (ANI)The CPCB calculates the hourly AQI for each monitoring station using a running average of readings from the previous 24 hours. An analysis of the data by the HT Pollution Dashboard showed that 31 monitoring stations recorded 'severe' air quality, while 28 were in the 'very poor' category.

The 10 Delhi monitoring stations that recorded the highest AQI readings in the latest update were: Check the air at your nearest station, hour by hour, on the HT Pollution Dashboard at hindustantimes.com/breathe. The top court on Friday flagged vehicle emissions as a major contributor to air pollution in Delhi-NCR.

It called for immediate, medium-term and long-term measures to reduce pollution levels. During a hearing in a suo motu case concerning the rules and measures to tackle air pollution, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana also expressed concern over heavy "bumper-to-bumper" traffic across Delhi-NCR.

"We keep talking, sometimes make statements and suggestions, but the point is that AQI is already touching 400," the CJI said. The bench also flagged the large number of vehicles on roads connecting Delhi to neighbouring areas, including Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad.

"Look at the roads in Delhi and the roads connecting Delhi with the NCR. Take a look at any road and the kind of vehicles moving on them. That is the major problem," the CJI said. Follow the latest breaking news, major developments and agenda-setting stories from India and around the world with the newsdesk at Hindustan Times.

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