Delhi air pollution: The air quality in Delhi is expected to linger in the "Very Poor" category on Friday, December 28. This forecast is expected to extend into the weekend ahead of the new year, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The IMD further predicts "unfavourable" weather conditions, including dense fog and wind patterns, to effectively disperse pollutants during this period. The IMD also warns that the air quality may be further exacerbated due to firecracker emissions over New Year's Eve celebrations on Sunday.
The majority of places in Delhi, including Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (371), Delhi University North Campus (378), R K Puram (397), and New Moti Bagh (378), were in the "Very Poor" air quality index (AQI) category. However, Punjabi Bagh (413), Patparganj (418), Anand Vihar (439), Nehru Naga (417), and ITO (409) fell into the "Severe" AQI category on Friday.
The Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi, a forecasting model under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, concurred with a grim forecast for the next few days. Delhi's AQI is expected to persist in the "Very Poor" category until December 30. Overall, EWS warns of fluctuations between the "Very Poor" to "Severe" categories over the next six days.
An AQI between 0 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".
Delhi weather: Moderate to dense fog expected over the weekend
Dense fog has continued to grip the national capital city, delaying at least 11 trains on Friday. According to a report by PTI, some trains were delayed up to 3-4 hours due to low visibility in Delhi. IMD has also warned of dense fog in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab for the next two days through a post on X (formerly Twitter).