Take anti-pollution measures for next three days, Supreme Court on Delhi pollution

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to continue measures for controlling air pollution for the next two-three days, news agency reported. "In the meantime, if the pollution level becomes 100, then some restrictions can be lifted," the court said, asking Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments about any study to show how much stubble has been removed from these states and what emission control methods have been adopted.

Delhi's air quality slipped into the very poor category on Wednesday morning as low temperatures and slow surface winds allowed accumulation of pollutants. The Delhi government will take a call on the reopening of schools, colleges and other educational institutions and work-from-home for its employees during a review meeting on Wednesday. It will also discuss if CNG-operated trucks carrying non-essential items can be allowed to enter Delhi.

The city's air quality index (AQI) read 357 at 9am. According to the India Meteorological Department, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 9.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest this season so far. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 27 degrees Celsius.

Strong winds on Sunday and Monday had led to an improvement in the air quality.

The 24-hour average AQI read 290 on Tuesday, the second best AQI reading this month since November 1 (281). Delhi has seen very poor or severe air quality on the rest of the days. Neighbouring Faridabad (348), Ghaziabad (346), Greater Noida (329), Gurgaon (308) and Noida (320) also saw a dip in the air quality on Wednesday morning.