Delhi air pollution: 37 flights diverted due to low visibility at Airport

At least 37 flights have been diverted at the Delhi Airport after a thick blanket of smog engulfed several parts of the city on Sunday morning.

Air pollution in the national capital escalated to a hazardous level and visibility dropped significantly.

The Delhi Airport in a statement said, "Due to low visibility at Delhi Airport, 37 flights were diverted between 9 am and 1 pm to places including Jaipur, Amritsar and Lucknow among others, today. As of now, the visibility has improved."

The update issued on Twitter at 3 pm said, "The visibility at Delhi airport is improving. Passengers are requested to get in touch with the airline concerned for the updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted."

Notably, for the first time in this season, the Air Quality Index (AQI) docked as high as 625 at 10 in the morning despite light drizzles in the early hours.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor", and 401-500 "severe". Above 500 is "severe-plus emergency" category.