Karnal, Nov. 14 -- Bahadurgarh town in Jhajjar district recorded an AQI in the "severe" category on Thursday and was ranked as most polluted in the country. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI of the industrial town was recorded at 466, much below the national capital's 404. Rohtak town in the Delhi-NCR was also in the "severe" category at AQI 430. The index, which is an average of the past 24 hours, recorded Charkhi Dadri at 349, Sonepat (347), Bhiwani (345), Fatehabad (340) and Jind (333). Haryana on Thursday reported 15 cases of stubble burning, taking the total count for this season to 479 cases. According to figures, seven cases were reported in Jind, three in Kaithal, two in Fatehabad and one each in Hisar, Rohtak and Sonepat districts. During the last season a total of 1,024 cases were lodged during the same period since September 15. The Capital recorded a third consecutive day of 'severe' air on Thursday, with AQI readings consistently above the 400 mark. This, despite the Centre's Early Warning System (EWS) - the model that triggers Grap measures - forecasting 'very poor' air for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, underscoring a widening gap between projections and actual pollution levels. On Tuesday, despite an earlier EWS forecast that the AQI would stay in 'very poor', Delhi recorded the first 'severe' day of the season. Since then, it has stayed above 400 ('severe') for three days despite EWS's forecasts. Meanwhile, a 50-point improvement was seen Gurugram's air quality index (AQI) which stood at 300 on Thursday as compared to 350 on Wednesday, according to CPCB's 4pm live feed. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI of above 400 falls under the 'severe' category. Between 301 and 400 is classified under 'very poor'; 201-300 under 'poor'; 101-200 under 'moderate'; and 51-100 under 'satisfactory'. The EWS is operated by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IIT-M), Pune, under the Union ministry of earth sciences. IIT-M also manages the Decision Support System (DSS), which estimates the contribution of various sources, such as stubble burning and vehicular emissions, to Delhi's pollution. IIT-M officials did respond to HT's requests for comment. Experts said multiple factors may explain the gap between the projections and the current situation, including assumptions within the model that on-ground enforcement of anti-pollution measures would reduce pollution. On Tuesday, the Commission for Air Quality Management implemented Stage 3 measures, for AQI above 400, under its Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)....