New Delhi, Nov. 8 -- The impact of cold northwesterly winds continued across Delhi on Friday, bringing stubble smoke from Punjab and Haryana while keeping temperatures low. The Capital woke to another morning of thick haze and shallow fog, which briefly lifted with sunlight but returned by evening as air quality remained "very poor". Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 322 (very poor) at 4 pm on Friday, up from 311 a day earlier, according to Central Pollution Control Board data. The share of stubble burning in Delhi's total PM2.5 concentration was 8.68%, marginally lower than Thursday's 9.48%, which was the season's highest so far, data from the Decision Support System (DSS) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) showed. On the ground, the effect was unmistakable - a faint smell of smoke lingered through the morning and late evening. DSS had initially forecast that stubble burning could contribute up to 38% of Delhi's pollution load on Friday, but actual data revised the figure downward after factoring in the day's fire count and wind patterns. Its forecast for Saturday shows a 30.9% contribution is likely. Before this week, the highest share of stubble burning recorded this season was 5.87% on October 28. In past years, the contribution of crop fires to Delhi's pollution has peaked in early November, reaching 35% in 2022 and 2023, and as high as 48% in 2021. Data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) showed Punjab recorded 100 farm fires on Friday and Haryana 18, down from 351 and 35, respectively, on Thursday. Experts said a reduction in fire counts was temporary, with smoke likely to persist because of prevailing wind direction and low ventilation. "The winds remain northwesterly and will continue for the next few days. Stubble smoke will therefore remain a key factor in Delhi's pollution levels," said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet Weather. The northwesterly winds also led to the season's lowest minimum temperature so far. Safdarjung, Delhi's base weather station, recorded 12.7degC for a second consecutive day - two degrees below normal. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said minimum temperatures will stay between 10degC and 12degC over the weekend and could drop below 10degC on Monday. Across the city, Lodhi Road reported the lowest temperature at 11.2degC, followed by 11.4degC at Ayanagar, while the maximum temperature settled at 28.6degC, a degree below normal. "The dip usually follows fresh snowfall in the western Himalayas when northwesterly winds blow into the plains. Clear skies also enhance cooling, as surface heat dissipates quickly at night," said an IMD official, adding that night temperatures are expected to fall gradually over the next few days. Out of Delhi's 39 active monitoring stations, 29 recorded an AQI above 300 (very poor), while the rest were in the poor to moderate range. The worst air was reported from Anand Vihar, Jahangirpuri and Mundka. HT's analysis of the data from November 5 had revealed missing readings as well as algorithmic inconsistencies in how the city's average AQI is calculated - meaning actual pollution levels could be higher than reported....