Delhi air quality remains 'severe'; cold waves and fog reduce visibility

Travellers in Delhi face delays as dense fog hits flight and rail operations amid severe air quality conditions

The air quality in Delhi continues to linger between "very poor" and "severe" on Tuesday, with slight improvement compared to the day before. Delhi residents once again confronted dense fog and bone-chilling cold, causing widespread flight and rail operations disruptions. Thousands of passengers waited for extended hours at airports and railway stations as visibility hit "zero" for the first time this winter season in various locations.

The national capital's air quality recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) above 400 in the Anand Vihar area, ITO, and Nehru Nagar, placing them in the "severe" category. The majority of the city, however, was in the "very poor" category, including Patparganj (383), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (344), DU - North Campus (357), Pusa (360), RK Puram (398), and Wazipur (388), according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

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". 

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage 3 measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) on Sunday to mitigate pollution levels. Stage 3 is invoked when levels go above the 400 mark.

Minimum temperature five degrees Celsius on Tuesday

The minimum temperature on Tuesday was recorded at five degrees Celsius, following a season's low of 3.3 degrees Celsius on Monday. The maximum temperature on Monday reached 19.7 degrees Celsius.

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Cold waves and persistent fog are expected over the next few days, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue an orange alert for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Low visibility for airlines and trains

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the IMD disclosed that Palam and Safdarjung Airports in Delhi reported visibility within 500 metres on Tuesday morning. Around 30 flights departing from Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) were delayed, and 17 flights were cancelled due to low visibility amidst dense fog.

Fog patches were observed over northern and northeastern states, causing low visibility in airports across these regions. The IMD shared on X, "A layer of fog is seen from Punjab to northeast India across Haryana, North MP, UP, Bihar, and West Bengal at 0530 hrs IST."

Visibility had hit "zero" in various locations on Monday, including Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, Patiala, Ambala, Chandigarh, Palam, Safdarjung (New Delhi), Bareilly, Lucknow, Bahraich, Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Tezpur.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the IMD is not expecting any significant change in weather over the next 48 hours, with the minimum temperature likely to hover in a similar range.

(With agency inputs)