NEW DELHI: The capital woke up to hazy conditions on Monday with overall air quality remaining in the ‘very poor’ range, even as four localities slipped into the ‘severe’ category. Data from the Sameer app showed Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 366 at 7 am.
Figures from the Central Pollution Control Board indicated that Narela recorded the highest AQI at 418, followed by Bawana (408), Wazirpur (403) and Anand Vihar (402) around 7.20 am. A day earlier, the city’s air quality was also ‘very poor’, with an average AQI of 377 on Sunday morning.
Under CPCB norms, AQI readings are classified as good (0–50), satisfactory (51–100), moderate (101–200), poor (201–300), very poor (301–400) and severe (401–500).
Dense fog further affected daily life, with PTI reporting the rescheduling of several trains at New Delhi Railway Station. Delhi airport, however, said flight operations were continuing normally. The India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert, warning of moderate fog at most places and dense fog in isolated pockets during the early morning hours.
The IMD said moderate to shallow fog is likely from Tuesday to Thursday. Although ‘cold day’ conditions had earlier been forecast for isolated areas, no weather station met the criteria on Sunday. Safdarjung and Palam had recorded cold day conditions on Saturday.
A ‘cold day’ in Delhi is declared when the minimum temperature drops below 10°C and the maximum temperature remains at least 4.5 degrees below normal. On Sunday, brief sunshine helped lift the maximum temperature to 18.1°C, still four degrees below normal, compared to 16.9°C a day earlier. The maximum is expected to rise to around 20–22°C on Monday, while the minimum, recorded at 9.4°C, is likely to hover near 9°C.
