NEW DELHI: Two days after Diwali, Delhi on Wednesday was blanketed by a dense layer of smog, as air pollution levels in the capital rose sharply. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 345, categorised as ‘very poor’. Some areas experienced even worse conditions. Early morning readings at 6.15 am showed AQI around 380 in Ashok Vihar, Bawana and Dilshad Garden. Other parts of the city, including DTU, IGI Airport and Lodhi Road, recorded AQI below 300, falling in the ‘poor’ category. On Tuesday, four stations — Dwarka (417), Wazirpur (423), Anand Vihar (404), and Ashok Vihar (404) — entered the ‘severe’ pollution category, according to the SAMEER app developed by the CPCB. The city’s 24-hour average AQI, reported at 4 pm, a

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