Fog, smog blanket Delhi as air quality stays ‘very poor’ at 337

Delhi woke to thick fog and smog on Tuesday, with AQI levels around 337 and several hotspots breaching 360. Most monitoring stations reported ‘very poor’ air quality, while forecasts warn pollution will remain high through the week despite marginal day-to-day fluctuations.

New Delhi: A thin layer of fog settled over India Gate and Kartavya Path around 7:40 a.m., where visibility remained low, and the Air Quality Index (AQI) hovered around 350, marking very poor conditions.

Early morning, a blanket of smog covered the foot overbridge at ITO, with the AQI once again close to 350, underscoring hazardous morning conditions for commuters in central Delhi.

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According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s overall AQI stood at 337, showing only a marginal improvement from Tuesday. Of the 39 monitoring stations across the national Capital, 34 recorded ‘very poor’ air quality, while five reported pollution levels in the ‘poor’ category.

Several high-intensity pollution hotspots continued to choke under toxic air early in the day. At 7 a.m., Rohini recorded an AQI of 376, while other severely affected areas included Delhi Technological University (367), Anand Vihar (364), Bawana (382), Ashok Vihar (364), Burari (347), Alipur (344), ITO (360) and Dwarka (361) — all firmly in the very poor range.

In the wider NCR region, Noida also battled persistently polluted air. Major stations reported very poor air quality, including Sector 1 (355), Sector 62 (304), Sector 116 (372) and Sector 125 (399), the last edging close to the ‘severe’ category.

The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi has forecast that pollution is expected to remain in the very poor range from November 26 to 28, with conditions likely fluctuating between severe and very poor over the following six days.

Historical CPCB data shows Delhi’s average AQI remained consistently hazardous over the past week: 391 (Sunday), 370 (Saturday), 374 (Friday), 391 (Thursday), 392 (Wednesday), 374 (Tuesday) and 351 (Monday).

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted moderate fog on Wednesday, with temperatures likely to hover around 24degrees Celsius (maximum) and 9 degrees Celsius (minimum).