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

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

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

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

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

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

"After a comprehensive review, the sub-committee decided to closely monitor the situation before implementing Stage III of GRAP and will reassess the status on Thursday," the 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 Advisory

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 the IGI airport.

"#6ETravelAdvisory : 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 heading to the airport. Also, please allow additional travel time as road 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)