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Air ‘severe’ in NCR again, Delhi on brink
IMD issued a yellow alert for Sunday morning, warning of moderate to dense fog and cold wave-like conditions
New Delhi/Gurugram/Noida/Ghaziabad: Air quality in the National Capital Region plummeted once again on Saturday, with Noida and Ghaziabad recording “severe” air quality index (AQI), while Delhi and Noida were on the brink of breaching the “severe” category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB’s) daily national bulletin and real-time data.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Sunday morning, warning of moderate to dense fog and cold wave-like conditions, which will keep wind speed slow and AQI at the same level, experts said.
According to the CPCB’s 24-hour average bulletin, Noida recorded an AQI of 409 (“severe”), and neighbouring Ghaziabad clocked an AQI of 404 (“severe”) at 4pm. While Delhi recorded an AQI of 385 (“very poor”) at 4pm, as per the bulletin, it deteriorated throughout the day, reaching 390 by 6pm and 391by 10pm.
Gurugram, meanwhile, fared relatively better, clocking an AQI of 299 (“poor”) at 4pm. Of four continuous air quality monitoring stations operational on the day in Gurugram, readings at Vikas Sadan and Gwal Pahari at 5pm were in the “very poor” category, recording AQI levels of 340 and 339, respectively. The station at Sector 51 recorded an AQI of 340, while data from the Teri Gram monitoring station was unavailable.
The CPCB classifies 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 a reading above 400 as “severe”.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, a private weather forecaster, said, “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.”
“Following that, northwesterlies are likely to return with a wind speed of 10-15 kmph, which will help in improving Delhi’s air quality considerably,” Palawat said.
Forecasts by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi (AQEWS) suggest that the Capital’s air quality is likely to remain in the “very poor” category for the next few days as well, as Delhi continues to battle with the annual problem of pollution that spikes for a second time around the end of December.
“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,” said the AQEWS bulletin on Saturday evening.
However, there was no change in curbs under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap). Stages 1-3 continue to remain in force, after Stage-4 curbs were curtailed last Wednesday.
Meanwhile, police in Gurugram launched a campaign to improve visibility amid foggy conditions.
“In the wake of dense fog, the ‘Reflective Gurugram’ campaign was launched on Thursday, installing reflective tapes on vehicles, trees, and major crossings to prevent any untoward incidents,” said Satyapal Yadav, assistant commissioner of police (highways and traffic headquarters).
Mercury expected to dip
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 7.6 degrees Celsius (°C) on the day, which was one degree above normal, and a maximum temperature of 22.2°C, which was 1.8°C above normal. However, IMD warned of colder conditions.
“A yellow alert has been issued for Sunday. Moderate fog at many places is expected to be observed, with dense fog at isolated places during the morning hours on Sunday,” said an IMD official.
The official said that cold wave conditions might also be observed in isolated pockets of Delhi for the next two days.
Palawat said, “While the wind speed has dropped due to the influence of a western disturbance, the temperature continues to be affected by the northwesterlies. This will continue for a couple of more days, when the temperature might dip further and cold wave like conditions might be observed in some parts of Delhi. Following that, the temperature will rise by a couple degrees again due to the WD.”
IMD classifies it as a cold wave when the minimum temperature is 4.5°C or more below the normal. IMD data shows that Delhi last recorded a cold wave for four days in 2021.
Gurugram recorded a minimum temperature of 8°C and a maximum of 21°C on Saturday. Gautam Budh Nagar, recorded a maximum temperature of 21.7°C and a minimum of 8.6°C. In neighbouring Ghaziabad, the maximum temperature reached 22.2°C on Saturday, while the minimum was 10°C, according to IMD.
According to forecasts by IMD, the minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to be around 6-8°C and 21-23°C on Sunday.
