New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS): The air quality in the national capital dipped further in the "very poor" category as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 343 on Wednesday morning, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

The AQI at Dhirpur with PM 2.5 was at 369, under "very poor" category.

In Pusa and Delhi University, the AQI was recorded at PM 2.5 levels at 328 and 371, both in "very poor" categories.

At Lodhi Road, the Air Quality Index with PM 2.5 concentration was at 338 under the "very poor" category and the PM 10 stood at 253 under the "poor" category.

At IIT Delhi station the PM 2.5 was at 335, in "very poor" category while the PM 10 reached 215, in the "poor" category.

The Air Quality Index at the city's Mathura Road was under "very poor" category with PM 2.5 at 303 and PM 10 concentration at 352 under "very poor" category.

According to the forecast from the SAFAR, the air quality of the city will deteriorate further under the "very poor" category with PM 2.5 reaching 349 and the PM 10 concentration at 276 under "poor" category on Thursday.

The Air Quality Index of Delhi’s neighbouring cities of Noida stood at 384 and the PM 10 concentration at 397, both under "very poor" category, while Gurugram's AQI was reported at 326 under "poor" category and the PM 10 concentration at 195 under "moderate" category.