Delhi Shivers On Coldest New Year Morning; Air Quality Remains 'Very Poor'

Areas such as Anand Vihar, Mundka, and Jahangirpuri recorded AQI levels above 400, indicating “severe” pollution levels. 

Delhi woke up to a cold New Year morning on Thursday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining in the “very poor” category. Areas such as Anand Vihar, Mundka, and Jahangirpuri recorded AQI levels above 400, indicating “severe” pollution levels.

The overall AQI in Delhi stood at 371 at 8:05 am, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s Sameer app, placing air quality in the “very poor” category.

Air quality remained severely affected across several parts of the capital, with Anand Vihar recording an AQI of 418 and Wazirpur close behind at 414. Rohini posted an AQI reading of 413, while Ashok Vihar registered 392.

Other areas also reported very poor air quality, with RK Puram at 381, Siri Fort at 384, Chandni Chowk at 377 and ITO at 371.

Poor air quality conditions extended to neighbouring cities in the National Capital Region as well. Noida recorded an AQI of 364, while Ghaziabad stood at 338. Greater Noida followed with an AQI of 336, with all these locations remaining in the “very poor” category.

As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 to 100 “satisfactory”, 101 to 200 “moderate”, 201 to 300 “poor”, 301 to 400 “very poor”, and 401 to 500 “severe”.

On January 1, Delhi recorded morning temperatures of 9 to 11 degrees Celsius and daytime highs of 14 to 16 degrees Celsius. The capital had recorded its coldest December day in five years a day earlier, on December 31, when the maximum temperature dropped to 14.2 degrees Celsius, 6.2 degrees below normal, while the minimum settled at 6.4 degrees Celsius.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Delhi-NCR is likely to remain mostly cloudy during the day, with chances of very light to light rain at isolated places. The weather office also cautioned that moderate fog may prevail across several areas, while dense fog could occur in a few pockets during the morning hours.

Meanwhile, IndiGo on Thursday issued a travel advisory stating that low visibility and fog over Ranchi and Bhubaneswar have disrupted flight schedules. The airline said it is closely monitoring weather conditions and working to ensure passenger safety, while advising travellers to check their flight status through its website or mobile app. 

Air India also issued a travel advisory, stating that weather forecasts predict low visibility due to fog in parts of northern India, including Delhi, which may impact flight operations across its network.