Delhi Air Pollution Today: Delhi continued to struggle with very poor air quality on Tuesday as thick fog covered the city, making it hard to see and breathe. At 6 am, the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 385, which falls in the very poor category.
A day earlier, on Monday, the 24-hour average AQI was 401, which comes under the severe pollution level. This showed that air conditions had worsened further.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the visibility at 6:30 am was only 350 metres, indicating how dense the fog was across the city.
Fog alerts and red warning issued
The IMD had already issued a fog warning for the night of December 29 and the morning of December 30. It warned that dense to very dense fog was expected in Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and several parts of North, East and Northeast India.
For Tuesday, the weather department also released a red alert for dense fog, which is the highest level of warning.
Airlines warn passengers
Because of low visibility, several airlines warned passengers about possible travel problems.
IndiGo Airlines issued a travel advisory, saying that poor visibility could disrupt flights in Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ranchi, Kolkata, and some other cities.
Air India also released a similar notice, stating that flight schedules in Delhi and northern India may be affected.
Delhi Airport had already warned on Monday that fog could disturb flight operations. However, on Tuesday morning, it said that flights were operating normally as visibility showed some improvement.
Weather alerts across Delhi
The Regional Meteorological Department released a nowcast warning for Delhi. Yellow and orange alerts were issued for different parts of the city due to moderate to dense fog.
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Yellow alert was given to west, northwest and north Delhi
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Orange alert was issued for south, northeast and central Delhi
At 6:30 am, Delhi’s temperature was recorded at 10 degrees Celsius.
Flights hit badly a day earlier
On Monday, fog caused serious trouble at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. According to reports, more than 550 flights were delayed, and at least 130 flights were cancelled due to poor visibility.
Fog may ease slightly
The Met department said that the fog may become slightly less intense on Tuesday, but dense fog is still expected during early morning hours till January 1. They also added that wind speed may improve, which could help reduce pollution levels.
December among the most polluted months
Delhi has been in the severe pollution category for eight days in a row. On Monday, the average AQI was 401, which was worse than Sunday’s 390. So far, December’s average AQI is 349, which is close to becoming the worst December since 2018, when the AQI stood at 360.
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