Delhi's Air Quality Hits Severe Zone as AQI Crosses 500-Mark; Airport Issues Advisory

New Delhi: national capital continued to choke with a thick layer of smog on Thursday, with AQI recorded in "severe" category for second consecutive day this season.

According to latest information updated at 8 am at AQICN, two areas in Delhi, crossed 500 mark. ITI Jahangirpuri recorded an AQI of 581 highest, while Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 521.

Meanwhile, several or areas like Narela, Punjabi Bagh, DITE Okhla, and Patparganj recorded AQI over 400 mark.

This comes as city's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI), which was recorded at 4 pm every day, stood at 418, up from 334 previous day, which can trigger stringent restrictions under third stage of Gred Response Action Plan (GRAP) to mitigate hazardous conditions.

Meanwhile, Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), however, said owing to stronger winds, pollutant concentration is expected to start showing a declining trend from Thursday onwards and AQI is likely to move back to "very poor" category.

"After a comprehensive review, sub-committee decided to closely monitor situation before implementing Stage III of GRAP and will reassess status on Thursday," CAQM said in a post on X.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", 401 and 450 "severe" and above 450 "severe plus".

IndiGo Issues Travel visory

IndiGo airline in a post on X on early Thursday said that flights to and from Amritsar, Delhi and Varanasi might be impacted due to morning fog at IGI airport.

"#6ETravelvisory : This morning, winter fog may impact flights to/from #Amritsar, #Varanasi & #Delhi. Do keep a tab on your flight status https://bit.ly/31paVKQ before heing to airport. Also, please allow ditional travel time as ro traffic may move slower than usual due to low visibility. Thank you for your patience, and we wish you a smooth journey," it said.

(Inputs from PTI)