(Image source from: Cnbctv18.com)
Life almost stopped in many areas of Delhi-NCR on Monday because heavy fog covered the region, making visibility nearly zero. This situation interrupted flights and led to school closures in Noida. The air quality in the capital city also got worse as the cold intensified, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 403 by 7 am, which is considered ‘severe.’ The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has released an orange alert for very dense fog in Delhi, predicting high and low temperatures to be around 22 and 7 degrees Celsius, respectively. Parts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand also have this orange alert. Because of these conditions, at least 128 flights—64 arriving and 64 leaving—were canceled today at the Delhi airport, and eight flights were redirected to a different airport.
Earlier in the day, the airport shared a notice with passengers due to the low visibility from the fog, warning them of possible delays and cancellations. An Air India Express flight that took off from Goa’s Mopa Airport at 11.55 pm on Sunday and was meant to land in Delhi at 2.35 am today was rerouted to Ahmedabad because it could not land due to the heavy fog. Jaipur airport, often used as a backup, was already busy as many flights had been sent there because of poor visibility. Following the severe fog, IndiGo has released a travel warning, stating that the changing visibility has impacted flight schedules, potentially slowing operations. Around 100 trains headed to Delhi have also been delayed because of the thick fog.
At the same time, Noida has been covered in thick fog since late Sunday night, with heavy mist making visibility very poor throughout the area. Daily life has been disrupted, especially on major roads. Due to the extreme cold and ongoing dense fog, the local officials have decided to give a holiday to all schools in the district from December 29 to January 1. Visibility has sharply decreased on the Noida–Greater Noida Expressway and dropped nearly to zero on the Yamuna Expressway, making it very hard to drive and causing problems for commuters. Traffic has slowed significantly in various places. With the cold winter air and heavy fog, the AQI in Delhi fell back into the severe category on Monday morning after a brief improvement last week.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported that the overall AQI in Delhi was at 403. Anand Vihar experienced the worst air quality with an AQI of 459. Other monitoring points recorded similarly concerning levels, with readings of 317 at IGI Airport, 362 at IIT Delhi, 400 at ITO, 359 at Lodhi Road, and 423 at Chandni Chowk.
