Delhi AQI Today: Smog engulfs Delhi-NCR for second day in row, AQI dips to ‘severe’ in parts of city

The 24-hour average PM10 (365 ug/m3) and PM2.5 levels (224 ug/m3) were around four times above permissible limits as of 7 am. The visibility was 300m at IGI Airport as of 7.30 am.

Low visibility procedures at Delhi airport

Amid the dense fog, Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has put in place low visibility procedures. “Low visibility procedures are in progress at Delhi airport. All flight operations are presently normal,” the airport operator DIAL said in a post on X at 7 am. It also requested passengers to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information.

“#6ETravelAdvisory : This morning, winter fog may impact flights to/from #Amritsar, #Varanasi & #Delhi,” IndiGo said in a post on X at 2.37 am. Owing to the bad weather conditions, at least 10 flights were diverted and scores of flights were delayed yesterday.

Wednesday was the first time this winter season that the air quality had slumped into the severe category. An “unprecedentedly dense” fog was cited as the reason for the sudden dip in air quality by the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM).

#WATCH | Delhi: A thick layer of smog engulfs the Gazipur as the air quality deteriorates to ‘Severe’ category in several parts of the national capital, as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

AQI in Anand Vihar is at 473 pic.twitter.com/QuiRz7LAtv

— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2024

Due to stronger winds, the pollutant concentration is likely to decline from Thursday onwards and the AQI is expected to be in the “very poor” category, as per the forecast by the IITM.

Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director of Research and Advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment, said: “This time, the variability of atmospheric conditions played a role in the delayed ‘severe’ AQI being recorded. But October saw relatively higher ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ AQI days compared to previous years. The episodic pollution of Diwali usually becomes the tipping point but this time it was in the warmer period so it did not have much significance… But, annual emissions are way above permissible limits.”

In a bid to curb pollution, Delhi government has imposed stringent restrictions such a ban on construction and demolition activities as well as plying of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel LMVs (4-wheelers) are imposed in Delhi when the air quality is forecast to remain in the ‘severe’ category.