Delhi's air quality plunged into the "severe" category on Friday morning. The Air Quality Index was recorded at an alarming level of 442 in the Alipur area, as per the Delhi Pollution Control Committee data. The AQI was 356 at the ITO as per the Central Pollution Control Board data, which is "severe". Early morning visuals from India Gate and Rajpath showed a thick blanket of haze engulfing the Capital. Thousands of farm fire in Punjab and Haryana have severely deteriorated Delhi's air quality.