Delhi wakes up to dense fog as minimum temperature drops, AQI remains very poor

There was a sharp dip in minimum temperature across the city, with it recorded at 4.8°C -- three degrees below normal

Dense fog engulfed the national Capital for over six hours on Thursday morning, which saw delays of over 50 flights and 24 trains.

The AQI had however dropped down to 355 (very poor) at 9am this morning. (HT Photo)

There was a sharp dip in minimum temperature across the city, with it recorded at 4.8°C -- three degrees below normal. It was 8.3°C on Wednesday.

Despite this, Delhi’s air quality showed a marginal improvement, returning to the ‘very poor’ category after touching ‘severe’ a day earlier.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said visibility was down to 50 metres at Palam at 1:30am and remained the same till 8am, when it improved marginally to 100 metres.

A yellow alert has been issued for Friday, forecasting moderate to dense fog across the city.

“There is plenty of moisture in the air and similar fog is expected in the next few days too.” said an IMD official, stating Delhi’s maximum temperature is likely to hover around 20°C today. In comparison, it was 18.3°C on Wednesday.”

Over 50 flights were delayed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, while at least 24 trains were delayed by over an hour, Northern Railway said.

Delhi recorded its second ‘severe’ air day of the month on Wednesday, when the average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 409 (severe) at 4 pm.

The AQI had however dropped down to 355 (very poor) at 9am this morning, with it forecast to gradually improve further.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR had held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to review Delhi’s air quality but has decided against invoking stage-3 measures of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), citing a possible improvement in air quality in the next 24 hours.