Air pollution begins to rise as winter sets in India's Delhi

Air pollution has begun to rise by the day in Delhi, India as winter sets in here.

According to the air quality forecast agency "System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Delhi's air quality index (AQI) on Wednesday morning was 309 which falls in "Very Poor" category.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been tweeting for the past two days citing air pollution levels. According to him, stubble burning by farmers in neighbouring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh was the main cause of rising air pollution levels in Delhi.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "Good", between 51 and 100 "Satisfactory", between 101 and 200 "Moderate", between 201 and 300 "Poor", 301 and 400 "Very Poor", and 401 and 500 "Severe".

SAFAR said stubble burning accounted for nearly 6 percent of the PM 2.5 pollution in Delhi on Tuesday, while rest of the air pollution was due to local sources.

Air pollution has been a huge problem for Delhi and its surrounding areas, particularly during winter months.

While the contribution of farm fires in Delhi's air pollution has remained low this season so far due to heavy rainfall in October, the scenario is likely to change post Diwali, said a report by media group India Today.

Meanwhile, SAFAR has predicted that Delhi's air quality may slip to the "Severe" category on the night of Nov. 4 when India celebrates the festival of lights Diwali.

Though bursting of firecrackers has been banned in Delhi, people still indulge in it.