Delhi chokes as AQI ‘very poor’; low visibility hits flight operations

Samad Hoque

New Delhi, December 25

The air quality in the national capital improved from the ‘severe’ to the ‘very poor’ category on Monday. Thick fog engulfed Delhi in the morning, with visibility dropping to 125 metres in several parts.

The Capital clocked an AQI of 383, against yesterday’s daily average of 411.

Pollution in the national capital remained in the ‘severe’ category from December 22 to 24. The early warning system under the Ministry of Earth Sciences has forecast that the air quality will continue to remain ‘very poor’ on Tuesday.

“However, it is likely to deteriorate and reach the ‘severe’ category on Wednesday. The air quality is likely to remain in the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category on Thursday,” it said.

As dense fog enveloped the Capital on the morning of Christmas, visibility dipped to 125 metres. Many parts of Delhi witnessed zero visibility. Low visibility hit flight operations in the national capital. Seven Delhi-bound flights were diverted to Jaipur and another one to Ahmedabad.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has launched an anti-fog landing system. The weather office said a very dense fog with zero visibility was prevailing at the Delhi airport from 5:30 am to 9:30 am.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences stated that the predominant surface wind was blowing from the north-west direction at a speed of 6 kmph in the morning and gusting up to 10 kmph during the afternoon before slowing down to 4 kmph at night.

In a seven-day weather forecast, the IMD has forecast that the temperatures could remain the same as on Monday, and thick fog may continue to blanket the region in the morning till Wednesday.

Some parts of the Capital saw the AQI breach the 400-mark: ITO (405), Jahangirpuri (422), Nehru Nagar (420), Patparganj (405), Punjabi Bagh (410), Shadipur (402) and Wazirpur (416).