A thick fog suddenly enveloped Delhi-NCR early Wednesday morning, as visibility went down across many areas and the Delhi airport issued an advisory. Though the fog is slowly clearing up, air quality in the region has continued to be of concern.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday morning, up from the season-low of 3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. However, cold wave conditions continued unabated at the national capital and its adjoining areas.
Low visibility triggers airport advisory
Visuals from different parts of Delhi showed thick fog in the city's early hours, affecting road visibility. The Delhi airport issued an advisory to warn passengers about low-visibility conditions and asked them to stay in touch with airlines for updated information on flight status.
Air quality remains very poor
The air quality continued to deteriorate, with the overall AQI recorded at 360 in the ‘very poor’ category. The air quality was recorded in the ‘severe’ category in many monitoring stations, with readings crossing 400.
According to the official classification, an AQI in the range of 0 to 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
Delhi has been facing biting cold for the past few days, and Tuesday was no exception as the city recorded the coldest morning of the season. IMD had on Monday said the minimum temperatures were likely to rise gradually by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius during the next five days. Moderate fog conditions have also been forecast for the same period.
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Cold wave continues
The cold wave is not confined to the capital alone. Neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab have been witnessing sharp temperature drops. On Tuesday, several cities in Punjab recorded near-freezing conditions, with Bathinda logging a minimum temperature of 0.6 degrees Celsius, while Amritsar and Faridkot dipped to 1 degree Celsius each.
Haryana too witnessed similar extremes as Sirsa, Sonipat, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh recorded minimum temperatures near 1 degree Celsius.
