India, Dec. 17 -- Delhi's air quality deteriorated sharply on Wednesday, with most monitoring stations across the national capital recording Air Quality Index (AQI) levels in the very poor to very poor categories, raising serious health concerns for residents.

According to area-wise data, industrial and traffic-heavy zones were among the worst hit.

Bawana recorded the highest AQI at 378, followed closely by Mundka (370), Pusa (365), Rohini (364), ITO, Wazirpur and Nehru Nagar (360-361), and Jahangirpuri and NSIT Dwarka (361). These readings fall dangerously close to the severe category, indicating prolonged exposure could cause respiratory distress even in healthy individuals.

Several residential and commercial hubs also reported alarm...