Delhi's air quality deteriorated to "severe" levels on Wednesday as the air quality index (AQI) hit 422 at 6 am, causing residents to struggle with the thick smog covering the city. According to Flightradar, reduced visibility caused 119 flights to be delayed and 6 to be cancelled at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The city has closed schools and banned construction due to the unhealthy air quality. Nevertheless, the air quality index has decreased from 494 to 422 compared to Tuesday's reading.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the temperature in Delhi reached its lowest point of the season at 12.2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday due to cold northwesterly winds.
In the meantime, there was toxic foam seen on the Yamuna River close to Kalindi Kunj, indicating consistently elevated pollution levels in the water.
As per the weather department, numerous monitoring stations in the national capital regions noted an AQI exceeding 450 at 6 am. Rohini, Wazirpur, Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Narela, Mundka, Alipur, Jahangir Puri, Sonia Vihar and Ashok Vihar stations are still recording an AQI above 450 on a 24-hour average.
Delhi-NCR has been subjected to Stage 4 pollution restrictions as per the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The restrictions involve prohibiting trucks from entering, except for those transporting necessary goods or using fuels like LNG, CNG, BS-VI diesel, or electric power. Light commercial vehicles from areas other than Delhi that are not essential are prohibited unless they operate on CNG, BS-VI diesel, or electricity. Work on public construction projects has been halted.
