The India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for Delhi NCR, warning of persistent fog and cold day conditions. According to the weather office, moderate to dense fog is expected during the morning and evening hours, while daytime temperatures are also likely to remain low, leading to a cold day even in the afternoon. This is expected to intensify the chill across the region.
Despite the arrival of a western disturbance, weather conditions in Delhi are unlikely to improve significantly. Wind speeds remain very low, limiting the dispersion of pollutants. As a result, air pollution levels are expected to stay elevated and may worsen over the coming days.
Air pollution in the national capital edged close to the severe category on Sunday as dense smog, biting cold and thick fog covered large parts of northern India. Delhi’s air quality index rose sharply through the day, touching 410 at 11 pm, breaching the severe threshold during the night. By 6:30 am, the AQI showed marginal improvement but remained near severe at 396, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.
The system’s forecast warned of persistently hazardous conditions, stating that air quality is likely to remain in the severe category from December 20 to December 22, and may improve slightly to the very poor category on December 23. The bulletin added that the outlook for the next 6 days remains worrying, with air quality likely to fluctuate between very poor and severe levels.
Several areas in Delhi recorded hazardous air quality in the early morning hours. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board’s Sameer app showed extremely poor readings at multiple monitoring stations. Chandni Chowk recorded an AQI of 455, followed by Wazirpur at 449, Rohini and Jahangirpuri at 444 each, Anand Vihar at 438 and Mundka at 436, all firmly in the severe range as of 6:05 am.
Smog continued to engulf the capital as temperatures dropped further. The India Meteorological Department also warned of dense to very dense fog, issuing orange alerts across large parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi. The alerts, the second highest warning level, cautioned of possible disruptions due to poor visibility.
On Sunday, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of around 17 degrees Celsius and a minimum of about 8 degrees Celsius, reflecting cold day conditions amid persistent smog and fog across the city.
