New Delhi

Delhi's air quality remained grim on Tuesday, staying in the very poor category for the 12th straight day with the city's overall AQI settling at 353 and the capital recording its lowest maximum temperature of the season so far.

The air quality is likely to remain in the very poor category from November 26 to 28. The outlook for the subsequent six days suggests that the air quality may range from severe to very poor, according to the forecast issued by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.

The 24-hour average AQI (Air Quality Index) settled at 352 on Tuesday, compared to 382 on Monday, remaining in the very poor category for the 12th consecutive day.

Meanwhile, concerns persist over Delhi's deteriorating air quality amid fears that ash clouds from volcanic activity in Ethiopia could further worsen pollution levels in the region.

Hayli Gubbi, a shield volcano in Ethiopia's Afar region, erupted on Sunday, producing a large ash plume rising to around 14 km (45,000 ft) and spreading eastward across the Red Sea.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the ash clouds are drifting towards China and will move away from India by 7.30 pm on Tuesday. Forecast models indicated a possible ash influence over Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday, the IMD said.

According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the average AQI stood at 391 on Sunday, 370 on Saturday, 374 on Friday, 391 on Thursday, 392 on Wednesday, 374 on Tuesday and 351 on Monday.

The CPCB's Sameer app, which displays real-time readings from monitoring stations across Delhi, showed that out of 38 operational stations, only the one at Rohini recorded air quality in the severe category on Tuesday with an AQI of 401. On Monday, 15 stations were in the severe category.

According to CPCB standards, an AQI between 0-50 is 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'.

The Decision Support System (DSS) of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, estimated that vehicular emissions contributed 19.6 per cent to Delhi's pollution on Tuesday, the highest among all sources, while stubble burning accounted for 1.5 per cent. For Wednesday, these contributions are projected at 21.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively.

Satellite imagery detected three farm fires in Punjab, one in Haryana and 522 in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. Monday's data has not yet been provided while the last update available is from Sunday.

The minimum temperature was recorded at nine degrees Celsius, 2.3 notches below normal, while the maximum settled at 25.1 degrees Celsius, 1.6 notches above normal -- the lowest maximum of the season so far, according to the IMD.

Last year, the lowest maximum temperature was 23.5 degrees Celsius while in 2023 the lowest was 22 degrees Celsius on November 28.

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For Wednesday, the IMD has forecast moderate fog, with maximum and minimum temperatures likely to hover around 24 and nine degrees Celsius respectively.