A few Mumbai's players were forced to put on face masks to protect themselves from pollution caused by construction.
Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 248 on Saturday.
The pollution board said that the situation will improve further by Sunday if favourable conditions prevail.
'Crossing my fingers that it will be better in the summer when the World Championships take place in Delhi.'
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued stop-work notices to 53 construction sites for contributing to air pollution in Mumbai. The civic body has also directed strict adherence to air pollution guidelines, including the use of AQI monitoring sensors. The Bombay High Court has also addressed the issue of air pollution in the city.
General insurance companies are likely to see a surge in demand for health insurance in the coming months due to falling air quality in the country. The health insurance segment has registered a strong growth after the pandemic due to higher awareness. In the first half of financial year 2023-24, the segment grew by 24.4 per cent to Rs 54,713.52 crore from Rs 43,981.54 crore in H1FY23, driving growth of the non-life insurance industry.
The air quality in the national capital remained poor for the sixth consecutive day on Monday with stubble burning accounting for seven per cent of the capital's PM2.5 pollution.
An improvement in the wind speed November 21 onwards might bring air pollution levels down.
A thin layer of toxic haze hung over Delhi in the morning and the overall air quality index stood at 313 at 9 am. It continued its upward trend and was recorded at 337 at 1 pm.
Chief Justice of India considers shifting Supreme Court hearings to virtual mode due to severe air pollution in Delhi after experiencing its effects firsthand.
On Thursday, the overall AQI in Delhi was 312 around 8:30 in the morning.
Delhi's air quality deteriorated to the 'severe' category, prompting the implementation of Stage-IV GRAP measures and hybrid classes for schools.
The capital witnessed a clear morning on Friday with the minimum temperature settling a notch below normal at 14.6 degrees Celsius.
Green think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said the ongoing smog episode is a public health emergency.
The overall air quality index was recorded at 426 which falls in the 'severe' category, according to data by the Central Pollution Control Board.
The United States embassy's pollution monitor recorded 'hazardous' air quality with the index scoring an alarming 878, which the mission considers 'beyond its air quality index' (AQI), which ends at 500.
The smog reduced the visibility to merely 300 meters in the morning affecting traffic, an official of the India Meteorological Department said.
Experts said while meteorological conditions were "moderately" favourable for dispersion of pollutants, a "very high" number of farm fires in Punjab was the primary reason for "severe" air quality.
Several states in north India, including Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, experienced varied weather conditions, including light to moderate rainfall, fog, and temperature fluctuations.
Delhi's overall air quality index (AQI) stood at 463 at 11.30 am, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
The city's overall air quality index stood at 306 on Friday.
Builders in the city must engage only the vehicles fitted with a tracking system for the transportation of construction materials, the guidelines said.
Interest in green living is rising, with clean air and open spaces becoming key selling points for residential projects, particularly as Indian cities struggle with deteriorating air quality.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board's mobile application SAMEER, the city recorded an air quality index of 168, which falls in the 'moderate' category, much better than Monday's AQI of 221, which falls in the 'poor' category.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asserted that Uttar Pradesh enjoys a clean environment, unlike Delhi, which he likened to a 'gas chamber' due to its pollution levels.
Other Graded Response Action Plan measures like ban on diesel generators, hot mix plants, stone crushers and brick kilns, however, continue to remain in place.
"The overall Delhi's Air Quality Index is in the very poor category with few Delhi locations entering at higher zone but that will be short lived. This is mainly because the extremely calm local surface winds which were prevailing yesterday are likely to increase slightly and may further pick-up by Oct 26," SAFAR said.
The fourth T20I between India and South Africa in Lucknow was called off without a ball being bowled on Wednesday, as dense fog and worsening air quality rendered playing conditions unsafe at the Ekana stadium.
The spurt in pollutants was caused by a combination of meteorological factors including a drop in temperature, wind speed and mixing height, a layer where air and particulates float, the Central Pollution Control Board said.
A thick layer of toxic smog enveloped the national capital on Saturday as air quality deteriorated sharply, prompting the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to invoke the strictest curbs under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR.
The eight areas that recorded 'severe' air quality Saturday are Anand Vihar, Dwarka Sector 8, Narela, Punjabi Bagh, Bawana, Mundaka, Vivek Vihar and Rohini.
Pollution levels were inching towards 'severe plus emergency' category due to a change in wind direction and rampant stubble burning in neighbouring states
The central government's Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi said a significant increase in the number of "fire points" was observed over Punjab (around 3,000), Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, which is likely to impact the air quality of Delhi-NCR and other parts of northwest India.
The Delhi High Court has directed the GST Council to consider lowering or abolishing the goods and services tax on air purifiers, citing worsening air quality in the national capital. The court has asked the council to meet at the earliest, even via video conference if necessary, to address the issue.
'If a common man wants to buy an air purifier for Rs 10,000, then he will have to shell out Rs 11,800 with 18 percent GST.' 'If he is charged GST at 5 percent the same air purifier will cost Rs 10,500.' 'This saves a one time amount of Rs 1,300 -- and that too just to breathe clean air.'
Lahore, Pakistan, has once again been ranked as the world's most polluted city, with hazardous smog levels far exceeding WHO guidelines. The city is battling a toxic mix of vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, and crop residue burning.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to consider directing schools in Delhi-NCR to postpone open air sports competitions planned in November and December to 'safer months' keeping in mind air pollution levels.
The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 398 at 11 am, worsening from 357 at 4 pm on Friday. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (Diwali).
The dip in the air quality can be attributed to low wind speed and temperatures which allowed accumulation of pollutants.
A CPCB official said a number of factors were responsible for the deteriorating air quality, including vehicular pollution, construction activities and meteorological factors.
