ROHTAK, Nov. 11 -- Air quality has shown marginal improvement in some parts of Haryana following the sharp pollution spike after Diwali, but residents of several cities, particularly those falling in the National Capital Region (NCR), continue to breathe polluted air, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining in the very poor and poor categories.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) air quality bulletin for Tuesday, five cities recorded very poor air quality, with AQI levels above 300. Kaithal reported the highest AQI of 336, followed by Gurugram (323), Sirsa (322), Hisar (316) and Kurukshetra (315).

Another 15 cities remained in the poor category, with AQI readings between 201 and 300. Bahadurgarh recorded an AQI ...