Delhi air quality at season’s worst, thick fog delays flights, schools go online

New Delhi’s air pollution levels reached the ‘severe plus’ category on Monday, with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) soaring to 481, marking the worst of the season.

As stringent anti-pollution measures take effect, all classes, except those for Grades 10 to 12, have been shifted online, and stricter restrictions have been imposed on polluting vehicles and activities.

The India Meteorological Department has issued an Orange Alert due to dense fog in the city. With the city shrouded in dense fog and visibility severely reduced, flight and train operations have been disrupted, leading to delays.

Monday is the second consecutive day of ‘severe plus’ air quality in the national capital, following a sharp increase from an AQI of 457 on Sunday evening, which was also in the severe plus category.

LATEST ON ‘SEVERE PLUS’ DELHI POLLUTION
The majority of the 39 monitoring stations in Delhi recorded air quality in the ‘severe plus’ category (450+), pushing the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) to 481. Noida experienced ‘very poor’ air quality, with the latest AQI at 384, while Faridabad registered in the ‘poor’ category with an AQI of 320. Ghaziabad and Gurugram reported ‘severe’ air pollution levels, with AQIs of 400 and 446, respectively.

Dense fog significantly reduced visibility and disrupted flight operations, causing delays of 30 minutes to an hour at the Delhi airport. The authorities advised passengers to confirm flight schedules with their respective operators, while SpiceJet and IndiGo have warned travellers that the fog could also result in slow-moving traffic and additional delays.

All schools up to Class 9 have shifted to online learning starting Monday, as ordered by the government. Classes 10 to 12 will continue with their regular schedule. For students attending classes offline, the schools mandated face masks and restricted outdoor activities. In Haryana’s Sonipat, the district administration ordered the closure of schools up to Class 5 on Monday due to deteriorating air quality.

About 30 train services have been delayed due to low visibility, with some delays stretching up to three to four hours, according to the Indian Railways. The affected trains include long-distance services such as the New Delhi-Kochuveli Express, Jammu Sampark Kranti, AP Express, Jammu Rajdhani, and Goa Sampark Kranti, among others.

Strict anti-pollution measures under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) have been implemented in the National Capital Region (NCR). No trucks will be allowed into Delhi except for essential items or using clean fuel (LNG/CNG/BS-VI diesel/electric). Non-essential light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi will also be prohibited, except for electric vehicles and CNG and BS-VI diesel ones.

All construction activities, including highways, roads, flyovers, power lines, pipelines and other public projects, have been suspended. The central commission also recommended that offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) work at 50 per cent capacity, with the rest working from home.

Under the GRAP IV, the governments in the national capital could also implement odd-even vehicle rules, a traffic management system where vehicles are allowed on the roads based on the last digit of their registration number. Work-from-home options may be introduced for central government employees and the authorities can also decide on closing collages.

The India Matheological Department issued an Orange Alert for Delhi, warning of dense fog conditions across the city. The dense fog may continue in the city due to adverse weather patterns.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea on Monday seeking the enforcement of measures to curb air pollution in the national capital. The top court agreed to hear the matter urgently, and Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih will be considering it. The plea argued that Delhi should not become the most polluted city in the world due to rising pollution.

Vehicular emissions and stubble burning in nearby states remain the leading contributors to the city’s pollution. On Sunday, Punjab recorded over 400 new instances of farm fires, bringing the total number of such cases this season to 8,404, as per remote sensing data.