India, Nov. 9 -- Delhi's air quality plunged to its worst level this season on Saturday evening, with the hourly average index touching 387 at 11pm and headed toward breaching the "severe" threshold, even as the commission tasked with pollution control measures did not invoke stricter emergency measures mandated by the Supreme Court.

The Air Quality Index steadily worsened from 322 at 4pm on Friday to 361 by 4pm on Saturday, according to Central Pollution Control Board data. Twenty-one of the 39 AQI monitoring stations recorded "severe" readings at the time of going to print.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), responsible for implementing the Graded Response Action Plan across the National Capital Region, did not convene ...