Earning a dubious distinction due to spiralling pollutants in breathable air, a top air quality monitor on Thursday said that the city was the 120th most polluted in the world.

The respected industry resource AQI.in made the claim in its report at 7 PM, when the Sameer App of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) placed the cumulative Air Quality Index (AQI) in the state capital at 252.

According to CPCB data, the air at the Paryavaran Bhawan and TT Nagar monitoring stations remained equally polluted at 255 each, while the situation at the Idgah monitoring station was marginally better at 245.

The data readings are likely to worsen as the evening progresses and city roads open to heavy commercial traffic.AQI readings during the winter months are traditionally at their worst during the early hours, and Friday morning is unlikely to disprove this trend.

Issuing advisories ahead of the onset of winter, the district administration had advised morning walkers to remain mindful of the air quality.

Health officials, speaking at a conclave on Wednesday, identified polluted air as the second most significant cause of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), after smoking.

Air pollution also threatens those with underlying cardiac issues, with myocardial infarctions peaking in the high-pollution winter months.

Pollution officials say that meteorological conditions will continue to affect the city's air quality through the colder months, with wind velocities, temperature inversion, and humidity factoring into AQI readings.Though district authorities have discussed the spiralling AQI on several occasions, credible action to address the hazardous trend is still awaited.