Fog Grips Delhi as Air Quality Remains ‘Very Poor’; AQI Likely to Turn Severe

New Delhi: Dense fog continued to blanket the national capital on Wednesday morning, sharply reducing visibility and keeping air quality in the ‘very poor’ category. Visibility dropped to just 50 metres at both Palam and Safdarjung at 6.30 am, the IMD said. According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi recorded a 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 384.

Station-wise data showed widespread pollution across the city. Twenty-one monitoring stations reported ‘very poor’ air quality, while 16 stations were in the ‘severe’ category. Anand Vihar recorded the worst air quality, with an AQI of 452, as per CPCB’s SAMEER app.

Under CPCB norms, an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.

The Air Quality Early Warning System said the outlook remains bleak. The AQI is expected to deteriorate to the ‘severe’ category on January 1 and ease slightly to the ‘very poor’ category on January 2. For the following six days, air quality is likely to remain ‘very poor’.

Officials attributed the continued pollution to unfavourable weather conditions, including a ventilation index below 6,000 square metres per second and low average wind speeds of under 10 kmph, which are insufficient to disperse pollutants.

On Tuesday, Delhi’s AQI stood at 388, a marginal improvement from Monday’s ‘severe’ reading of 401.

Weather data showed that the minimum temperature at Safdarjung and Ayanagar on Wednesday was 6.4 degrees Celsius, about 0.4 degrees below normal. The maximum temperature is expected to be around 23 degrees Celsius. The IMD said dense fog is likely to persist through the day.

Other stations also reported low minimum temperatures, with Palam recording 7.7 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 6.8 degrees Celsius, and the Ridge 7.8 degrees Celsius.

For New Year’s Day, the IMD has forecast a generally cloudy sky over Delhi, with the possibility of light rain.