Delhi battles cold wave, dense fog as air quality remains 'very poor'

Delhi faces extreme air pollution as dense fog and a cold wave persist; AQI hits hazardous levels, with vehicular emissions and industry driving hazardous conditions

Delhi residents are grappling with severe air pollution, dense fog and a cold wave that continues to disrupt daily life. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 390 on Sunday morning, a slight improvement from 398 the previous day, but still firmly in the “very poor” category and on the verge of tipping into “severe” levels.

 

AQI readings across key areas of Delhi:

 

Anand Vihar: 433

Ashok Vihar: 425

Bawana: 439

Chandni Chowk: 448

RK Puram: 394

Rohini: 433

Vivek Vihar: 413

ITO: 393

 

Adjoining cities also affected:

 

Gurugram: 354 (very poor)

Noida: 352 (very poor)

Ghaziabad: 334 (very poor)

Faridabad: 283 (poor)

 

By 4 pm on Saturday, Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 398. Of the 40 monitoring stations in the city, 22 reported readings in the severe category, while 17 were in the very poor range. Chandni Chowk recorded the highest AQI at 464, falling under the severe category. 

 

CPCB AQI categories:

 

0–50: Good

51–100: Satisfactory

101–200: Moderate

201–300: Poor

301–400: Very poor

401–500: Severe

 

What is causing high levels of pollution?

 

Data from the Decision Support System for Air Quality Management shows that vehicular emissions are the largest contributor, accounting for 17.5 per cent of pollutants. Industries in and around Delhi-NCR contributed 8.9 per cent, while residential sources accounted for 4.3 per cent and open biomass burning contributed 1.5 per cent, reported PTI.

 

Delhi’s air quality is expected to remain in the severe category on Sunday and Monday, before improving slightly to the very poor category on Tuesday. This is due to unfavourable meteorological conditions, including a low ventilation index and average wind speeds below 10 km per hour, which hinder the dispersion of pollutants.

 

Delhi weather forecast

 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Sunday. Residents can expect partly cloudy skies with cold day conditions in isolated areas. Dense fog is forecast at several locations, with very dense fog in isolated areas during morning hours.

 

Maximum temperature: 16–18 degrees Celsius

Minimum temperature: 6–8 degrees Celsius