Delhi Covered In Toxic Smog, Visibility Low At Airports Across North India

Delhiites woke up to another smoggy morning with a thick layer of white blanket (smog) engulfing the city. The air quality index (AQI) at 6 am was recorded at 432, falling under the “severe” category”, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Low visibility due to heavy smog is likely to impact flights to and from various cities around Delhi. At 5:30 am, Amritsar and Pathankot airports in Punjab reported zero visibility. At 7 in the morning, visibility at Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur airport dropped to zero. 

Earlier in the morning, Indigo posted a travel advisory on social media X (formerly Twitter), urging passengers to keep a tab on their flight status as some flights might be delayed due to “winter fog”.

“This morning, winter fog may impact flights to/from Amritsar, Varanasi & Delhi. Do keep a tab on your flight status before heading to the airport. Also, please allow additional travel time as road traffic may move slower than usual due to low visibility. Thank you for your patience, and we wish you a smooth journey,” it wrote.

A sharp spike in Delhi's air pollution was witnessed in the past 24 hours with 30 out of 36 monitoring stations reporting severe air quality index.

Chandigarh, 250 km away from Delhi also reported a severe air quality index of 415

Smog chokes nearby Ghaziabad (AQI of 378), Noida (372), and Gurugram (323) with air quality plummeting to the "very poor" category.

Long-term exposure to "very poor" air quality can lead to respiratory. Whereas, severe AQI can affect even healthy people and seriously impact those with existing diseases.

Owing to stronger winds, the pollutant concentration and thereby the AQI, is expected to start showing a declining trend from today onwards and the AQI is likely to move back to the "very poor" category, noted a report filed by the India Meteorological Department and IITM.

On Wednesday, the AQI turned "severe" for the first time this season. The Commission for Air Quality Management described "unprecedented extremely dense fog" as an "episodic event".

It was decided to keep a close watch on the situation, before invoking the stringent measures under Stage-III of GRAP.