Delhi woke up to another winter morning wrapped in thick smog and fog, with air quality continuing to deteriorate and flight operations facing disruptions across North India. Early on Monday, the national capital’s average air quality index stood at 366 at 7:05 am, placing it firmly in the ‘very poor’ category, according to the Sameer app.
Several parts of the city slipped into the ‘severe’ bracket. Narela reported the worst readings so far on Monday with an AQI of 418. Pollution levels were similarly alarming in Anand Vihar, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Rohini and Wazirpur, where values ranged between 401 and 408.
Among the 40 monitoring stations, Dilshad Garden showed the lowest reading at 301, which still fell under ‘very poor’.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board’s scale, AQI values between 301 and 400 are classified as ‘very poor’, while readings above 401 fall into the ‘severe’ category.
Poor visibility caused by dense fog once again affected flight movement at Indira Gandhi International Airport and other northern airports. According to Hindustan Times, over 150 flights have been delayed at the airport.
On Monday morning, Delhi International Airport Limited confirmed that low-visibility procedures were in place. The airport operator said, “All flight operations are presently normal,” even though weather conditions remained challenging.
IndiGo indicated some relief for passengers, reporting just two cancellations scheduled for December 22. According to its website, the affected flights were 6E 6409 operating from Pune to New Delhi and 6E 721 between Pune and Amritsar.
The impact of fog has been ongoing for several days. On Sunday alone, flight operations were hit hard, with more than 105 flights cancelled and over 450 delayed at IGI Airport, PTI reported. An official said at least 55 arriving and 52 departing flights were called off during the day. Data from Flightradar24 showed average departure delays of about 36 minutes, affecting hundreds of services.
Despite the disruptions, DIAL later attempted to reassure passengers, stating on X on Sunday evening that operations were running smoothly. IGI Airport, which usually manages around 1,300 flights daily, has seen schedules repeatedly thrown off due to persistent fog.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Airport issued a passenger advisory at 07:00 hours, urging travellers to check real-time updates as winter conditions continued to pose challenges. Dense fog has also led to flight cancellations at other airports, including Srinagar, over the past week, highlighting the wider regional impact of the weather.
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