Delhi AQI 'Severe' For Third Consecutive Day, Second Most Polluted City In The World

Delhi continues to battle severe air pollution, with the air quality index (AQI) remaining in the “severe” category for the third consecutive day. The AQI stands at 498, making Delhi the world’s second most polluted city, behind Lahore, Pakistan, which recorded an AQI of 770 at 7 am, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company.

The areas most affected in Delhi this morning include Jahangirpuri (AQI 458), Bawana (455), Wazirpur (455), Rohini (452), and Punjabi Bagh (443), as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board’s Sameer App.

Visibility has been severely impacted, with Palam reporting just 500 meters and Safdarjung 400 meters due to the dense smog. These conditions have disrupted flight and rail operations across the country. Several IndiGo flights to and from Amritsar are affected, and many SpiceJet flights, including those to and from Delhi and Darbanga, are running late. Additionally, more than 25 trains arriving at New Delhi Railway Station are delayed by over two hours.

In response to the ongoing pollution, Delhi’s Chief Minister Atishi announced that all primary schools in the city will shift to online classes until further notice.

To mitigate the situation, the Delhi government has imposed several restrictions, including a ban on non-essential construction and demolition work. The operation of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles is banned in Delhi and parts of the NCR, including Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Noida. The use of diesel generator sets is restricted to emergency purposes only, and industrial operations not using approved fuels are also banned.