Delhi-NCR is in experiencing a cold wave, with a thick haze blanketing the city and disrupting flight operations and daily commutes ahead of New Year’s Day.
Visuals from Delhi-NCR on Wednesday, New Year’s Eve, showed dense fog across the national capital, leaving people virtually blinded.
flight disruptions
Visibility was recorded at 50 meters in both Palam and Safdarjung on Wednesday at 6.30 am, and expectedly, given the conditions, the Delhi airport and all major airlines announced disruptions to flight schedules, with an orange alert for dense fog in effect till 10 am.
Early in the morning, the Delhi airport warned of potential delays and cancellations.
Major airlines such as Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet also announced expected disruptions to their operations and urged passengers to check the status of their flights before departing for the airport.
Air quality remains dismal
Air quality in the national capital continued to remain dismal, with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) yielding a reading of 384, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
While 21 monitoring stations in Delhi recorded ‘very poor’ air quality, 16 had AQI in the ‘severe’ range.
The outlook isn’t too bright either, with the Air Quality Early Warning system forecasting a deterioration to the ‘severe’ category on 1 January.
Air quality is expected to improve marginally on 2 January to the ‘very poor’ category, and is forecast to remain there for the next six days.
A cold wave grips the national capital
Temperatures, too, are plummeting, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recording a minimum temperature of 6.4° Celsius at Safdarjung and Ayanagar, 0.4° Celsius below normal.
The maximum temperature on Wednesday is expected to peak at 23° Celsius, with dense fog likely to persist throughout the day.
The weather, however, could turn even more chilly on New Year’s Day, with cloudy skies and light rain forecast for the national capital.
