Dense fog, low winds bring Delhi AQI near ‘severe’ level; over 150 flights delayed

DElhi recorded “ really poor” transmit character betimes sun morning as parts of the national capital woke up to dense fog and cold wave-like conditions. More than 150 flights have been delayed at Delhi's IGI airport, FlightRadar24 data showed.While Delhi’s AQI was on the brink of breaching the “very poor” category, Noida recorded “severe” air quality on Sunday, with an AQI of 415.On Saturday, air quality in the national capital slipped into the “severe” category. The AQI stood at 385, which was “very poor”, at 4 pm, according to the bulletin. It worsened through the day, rising to 390 by 6 pm and reaching 391 by 10 pm.Delhi AQIAccording to data from the Sameer app, developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s AQI stood at 391 as of 6:05 am on Sunday.Of the 39 active stations out of a total of 40, a total of 20 stations recorded “severe” air quality. These included Anand Vihar (445), Chandni Chowk (415), Jahangirpuri (430), Shadipur (443) and Wazirpur (443).All other stations recorded “very poor” air quality, with AQI levels between 301 and 400, while one station, NSIT Dwarka, recorded a “poor” AQI of 214.The CPCB categorises an AQI of 51 to 100 as “satisfactory”, 101 to 200 as “moderate”, 201 to 300 as “poor”, 301 to 400 as “very poor”, and readings above 400 as “severe”.Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) sounded a yellow alert for Sunday morning in the national capital, warning of dense fog and cold wave-like conditions. Experts said this would keep wind speeds slow and AQI at the same level, as mentioned in an earlier HT report.“The wind speed was very low on Saturday. The average speed was around 4-5 kmph, with the wind speed reaching 8-9 kmph only for a few hours in the afternoon and then again dropping by the evening. As a result, Delhi saw a spike in pollution. Similar wind conditions will persist till January 1, 2026, due to the influence of a western disturbance,” the earlier report quoted as saying Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, a private weather forecaster.Delhi airport issues advisoryIn its latest advisory as of 9 am, Delhi's IGI airport said that the flight operations are running smoothly. It also advised passengers to contact their airline or visit the official airport website for latest updates.“Flight operations are running smoothly as visibility at the airport has improved. Please be assured that our on-ground staff is available across terminals to assist passengers and provide necessary support,” it said.Delhi AQI to remain ‘very poor’?According to a bulletin by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi (AQEWS), Delhi’s air quality is expected to remain “very poor” for the next few days.“The air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor’ category from Sunday to Tuesday. The outlook for the subsequent six days is that the air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor’ category,” it said.However, there was no change in restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Stages one to three remain in place after Stage four curbs were rolled back last Wednesday.