NEW DELHI: A dense haze blanketed Delhi on Thursday morning as pollution levels showed little sign of easing, extending the city’s streak of “severe” air quality into the third consecutive day. Despite relatively clear skies, stagnant winds and falling temperatures have trapped pollutants close to the surface, turning the national capital into a gas chamber for yet another winter morning.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 404 at 4 pm, placing the city firmly in the “severe” category — a level known to harm even healthy individuals and cause serious health complications for those with respiratory or cardiac conditions. Of the 37 monitoring stations, 27 logged “severe” readings, including Bawana (453), Wazirpur (450), Chandni Chowk (445), Mundka (438), and Anand Vihar (431).
This marks Delhi’s third straight day of toxic air since Tuesday, when the AQI touched 428 — its first “severe” reading since December last year. According to CPCB classification, an AQI between 401 and 500 is considered “severe,” while 301–400 is “very poor.”
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) attributed the continuing smog to calm morning winds, low mixing heights, and below-normal temperatures. On Thursday, the minimum temperature settled at 10.6°C — three degrees below normal — while the maximum was expected around 27°C. Visibility dropped to 800 metres at Safdarjung and Palam airports between 7 and 9 a.m. due to shallow fog mixed with haze.
IMD forecasts indicate that the situation is unlikely to improve in the coming days. The mixing depth — the vertical height available for pollutants to disperse — is expected to fall from 1,450 metres on Thursday to just 1,100 metres by Sunday, while the ventilation index, a key measure of pollutant dispersion, is likely to dip below 6,000 m²/s over the weekend, creating conditions highly unfavourable for dispersal.
Light northwesterly winds, often dropping below 10 kmph during morning and night, are allowing particulate matter to accumulate. The IMD predicted that minimum temperatures will remain below normal, further reducing dispersion. “Mainly clear skies with shallow fog and smog during morning hours are expected till Sunday,” the bulletin stated.
Officials have warned that Delhi’s air quality will likely stay in the “very poor” to “severe” range over the next six days unless stronger winds arrive to flush out the pollutants.