New Delhi, Dec 23: Delhi woke up to another day of toxic air on Tuesday, as thick fog and haze shrouded the city with pollution levels touching hazardous levels. The Air Quality Index (AQI) crossed the 400 mark at 27 monitoring stations, while several others slipped into the ‘severe plus’ category, exposing residents to dangerous air conditions.
At 9 am, Delhi recorded an overall AQI of 415 — up from the ‘very poor’ category a day earlier — according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Out of 40 monitoring locations, 27 recorded ‘severe’ air quality, while five stations breached the 450 mark — Anand Vihar (470), Nehru Nagar (463), Okhla (459), Mundka (459), and Siri Fort (450), as per CPCB’s SAMEER app data.
As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0–50 is classified as ‘good,’ 51–100 ‘satisfactory,’ 101–200 ‘moderate,’ 201–300 ‘poor,’ 301–400 ‘very poor,’ and 401–500 ‘severe’.
Poor visibility compounded the city’s woes as a thick blanket of fog reduced visibility to 50 metres at Palam and 100 metres at Safdarjung around 8 am. By 8:30 am, visibility improved slightly to 100 metres at Palam and 150 metres at Safdarjung, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported.
The minimum temperature settled at 8.8°C — about 1.3 degrees above normal — while the maximum is expected to hover around 23°C. The IMD has forecast dense fog through the day across the National Capital Region.
