Delhi wakes up to ‘smoggy’ Thursday morning, 41 trains delayed

IMD officials said visibility remained low at 200 metres around 5.30 am, although it was slightly better than Wednesday.

Smog-like conditions continued in Delhi on Thursday morning, with air quality deteriorating and low visibility causing the delay of 41 trains.

A cyclist pedals through heavy smog in New Delhi as air quality plummets. (Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

An Indian Railways official said nine trains have been rescheduled, and 10 cancelled so far.

Thursday was the coldest day of the season so far, with the minimum temperature dipping to 13.8 degrees Celsius. The city had registered a minimum temperature of 14 degrees Celsius the previous day.

IMD officials said visibility remained low at 200 metres around 5.30 am, although it was slightly better than Wednesday. Foggy conditions are declared when the visibility dips below 1,000 metres.

Delhi’s air quality remained in the “severe” zone. The air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 468 around 7.30 am, which was worse than Tuesday’s average AQI of 448.

Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) levels have shot up to 10 times over the permissible level in some places, including Wazirpur and Patparganj, Delhi Pollution Control Committee data revealed.

This, however, means that the city’s pollution level will only improve slightly from what it is now (‘severe’ to ‘very poor’).