AQI almost ‘severe’ in Delhi, visibility dips to 500m at IGI airport

Delhi’s minimum temperature stood at 6.3°C on Sunday, a notch below normal. It was 7.8°C a day earlier.

Delhi’s air quality deteriorated further and was on the brink of the ‘severe’ category on Sunday morning. Wind speeds remained low in the region, with a thick layer of fog visible across the Indo-Gangetic plains, satellite imagery showed.

People commute amid dense smog and poor visibility in New Delhi on Sunday. (PTI)

The city’s average air quality index (AQI) stood at 392 (very poor) at 8am on Sunday -- marginally higher than 385 (very poor) at 4pm on Saturday. It was 332 on Friday, making a steady drop on the back of an approaching western disturbance, which has slowed down winds, while also adding moisture into the air. Another western disturbance is expected from December 30 till January 1 -- keeping similar conditions in place till the New Year.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed at least 20 out of the 39 active ambient air quality stations in the ‘severe’ range. The worst impacted included Shadipur (447) and Anand Vihar (445).

Though visibility dipped to zero at multiple airports across the Indo Gangetic plains, shallow fog was witnessed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, with visibility staying at 500 metres between 4.30am and 8.30am.

“Stations with zero visibility included Pathankot, Agra, Amritsar, Gwalior and Kanpur,” said an IMD official.

Despite only shallow fog, data from the flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed over 150 flights were still delayed at the IGI airport.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s minimum temperature stood at 6.3°C on Sunday, a notch below normal. It was 7.8°C a day earlier.