On Wednesday, Delhi's minimum temperature had increased marginally due to partly cloudy sky and settled at 8.2 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal.
Several homeless people were seen taking refuge in night shelters as the national capital struggled under coldwave conditions.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the rice manufacturers, submitted before the bench that they had made a representation in the first week of December seeking relaxation, but the commission has not decided it yet.
In view of the air quality standard, SAFAR issued an advisory to reduce heavy exertion. According to SAFAR prediction, the AQI in national capital will deteriorate to 321 and will remain in the 'very poor' category on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court on Thursday came down hard on the Delhi government over its 'Red Light On, Gaadi Off' campaign to curb vehicular pollution, saying it was nothing but a popular slogan.
Delhi AQI: The slow wind speed due to the Western Disturbance will allow the accumulation of pollutants and thus, increase the air pollution levels.
The Supreme Court directed state governments -- Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana -- to comply with the directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi-NCR and sought compliance reports from them.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.
The city's 24-hour air quality index (AQI) stood at 406 on Friday. Neighbouring Faridabad (434), Ghaziabad, (376) Gurugram (378) and Noida (392) also recorded their air quality in the 'very poor' category.
Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) read 400 on Thursday evening. The air quality in the capital has remained very poor or severe on most of the days in November so far.
The order took note of the submissions of solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that a plan for graded response has been prepared in pursuance of which measures are identified to be taken progressively on the basis of worsening levels of ambient air pollution.
Air quality visibly improved in Delhi after strong surface winds swept through the city on Sunday with today's AQI being recorded at 280 by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
The air pollution level in the National Capital Region (NCR) fluctuated between "very poor" and "poor". Gurugram and Noida recorded AQI of 283 and 303 in the "poor" and "very poor" categories on Wednesday morning.
Due to assembly polls in Punjab, fines are not being imposed to please farmers, senior advocate Vikas Singh told the Supreme Court.
The air quality of Delhi is likely to improve to the 'poor' or 'lower end of very poor' category for the next two days.
The decision comes after a high-level meeting to review the curbs imposed to contain high pollution levels in the city.
According to the SAFAR bulletin, the per cent share of stubble burning related pollutants to Delhi's PM2.5 may remain low in spite of high wind speeds.
Earlier on Wednesday, announcing emergency measures to reduce pollution, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that there will be 100 per cent work from home for the government departments till November 21.
The entry of trucks in Delhi except those carrying essential commodities has been stopped till November 21, 2021.
According to the fire department, the 13 identified pollution hotspots include Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Narela, Okhla, Punjabi Bagh, R K Puram, Rohini, Vivek Vihar, and Wazirpur.
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