LUCKNOW, Nov. 26 -- With an air quality index (AQI) of 389, Hapur was the most polluted city in the country for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. A day ago, Hapur's AQI fared worse at 416, and it was the only city in the country to fall under the 'severe' category in the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) 4 pm bulletin. In the state capital too, the air quality remained grim for the second day in a row. From 209 on Monday, the AQI deteriorated to 219 on Tuesday. This marked the second instance this season when Lucknow reported back-to-back 'poor' air quality days-the earlier instance being on November 13 and 14. Barring Kukrail picnic spot, all live monitoring stations in the city reported poor air quality. Lalbagh and Talkatora (district industrial centre) registered the highest pollution levels in the city at 271 each. They were followed by Kendriya Vidyalaya (Aliganj) at 240, Dr B.R. Ambedkar University at 210, and Gomti Nagar at 205. Kukrail's AQI was recorded at 116. According to CPCB norms, AQI between 201-300 is categorised as 'poor', 301-400 as 'very poor', and values above 400 fall under the 'severe' category. Officials attributed the rising pollution levels to a mix of meteorological and anthropogenic factors. "With winter setting in, the dispersal of suspended dust and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has slowed, raising pollution levels," said JK Maurya, regional officer, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board. "Reduced wind speed, increased vehicular traffic, and biomass burning in neighbouring districts have further contributed to the spike," he said....