New Delhi: A thick blanket of smog shrouded Delhi and its neighboring areas—Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad—on Wednesday morning, resulting in the diversion of flights. Adverse weather conditions caused 10 flight diversions, including six to Jaipur and one to Lucknow, starting at 7 am. The Indira Gandhi International Airport reported zero visibility at 8:30 am, with the Runway Visual Range fluctuating between 125 and 500 meters at different spots, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Delhi International Airport Limited stated on social media platform X, “While landings and takeoffs are ongoing at Delhi Airport, flights that aren’t CAT III compliant might be affected.” The CAT III navigation system allows aircraft to land in low visibility conditions.
Delhi’s air quality index reached the ‘Severe’ level, exceeding 400, while Gurugram, Noida, and Ghaziabad registered ‘Poor’ air quality. Faridabad’s AQI was reported at 188, categorizing it as ‘Moderate’.
With AQI entering the ‘Severe’ category after two weeks in the ‘Very Poor’ range, visibility worsened significantly. Two monitoring stations, Anand Vihar and Aya Nagar, indicated ‘Severe’ air quality, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. “Very dense” fog began to form around 5:30 am, and the weather department predicted shallow fog throughout the day, expecting a maximum temperature of 32 degrees Celsius.
The second phase of the Graded Response Action Plan remains active in the national capital, which includes mechanical road sweeping, water sprinkling on specific roads, and enforcing dust control measures at construction sites. Concerns about air quality are widespread across the Indo-Gangetic Plains, with three cities in Bihar, two in Haryana, and Chandigarh ranking among the ten most polluted places in the country on Wednesday.
The scenario is critical in neighboring Pakistan, where UNICEF has cautioned about health hazards facing 11 million children in Punjab Province due to deteriorating air pollution.
AQI levels are categorized as follows: 0-50 is ‘good’, 51-100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 is ‘moderate’, 201-300 is ‘poor’, 301-400 is ‘very poor’, 401-450 is ‘severe’, and above 450 is ‘severe plus’.