Orange alert today: Dense fog grips Delhi as AQI turns ‘severe’

Delhi fog

Delhi woke up to a thick layer of smog on Monday morning, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 402, placing it in the ‘severe’ category. The dense smog and poor visibility caused delays in flights and train services across the national capital.

At 7 am on Monday, more than half of Delhi’s monitoring stations (25 out of 40) reported AQI in the ‘severe’ range. Vivek Vihar recorded the highest AQI at 458, with particulate matter (PM2.5) as the major pollutant, followed by Wazirpur at 443.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for very dense fog on Monday, with maximum and minimum temperatures likely to hover around 22 and 7 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Delhi’s AQI rose to 390 on Sunday, moving closer to the ‘Severe’ category. This was slightly higher than Saturday’s reading of 385. Neighbouring cities reported even worse conditions. Noida remained in the ‘Severe’ category with an AQI of 419, up from 409 a day earlier. Gurugram’s air quality also worsened, slipping into the ‘Very Poor’ category with an AQI of 352, compared to 299 the previous day.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board’s Sameer App showed that 19 monitoring stations in Delhi recorded ‘Severe’ air quality levels. Anand Vihar reported the highest AQI at 457, making it one of the most polluted areas in the city.

The dense fog and poor air quality affected multiple transport services. Some trains at New Delhi railway station were delayed, and a few flights at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) faced disruptions.

IGI Airport authorities advised passengers to check flight status with airlines before traveling and to allow extra travel time. An Air India Express flight from Goa’s Mopa Airport, scheduled to land at 2.35 am, was diverted to Ahmedabad due to congestion at Jaipur Airport caused by fog.

Officials have attributed the deteriorating air quality to cold weather, calm winds, and dense fog, which prevent pollutants from dispersing.