Delhi-NCR chokes on toxic smog as AQI nears ‘severe’ mark, crosses 400 in key hotspots

Delhi-NCR woke on Thursday to a city submerged in smog, with the Air Quality Index soaring to 400 — skirting the ‘severe’ threshold — as a thick, toxic haze clung stubbornly to the skyline. The air lay still and suffocating, locking the region beneath an unyielding blanket of pollution.

With winds stagnant and temperatures sliding, pollutants settled close to the ground, tightening their grip on the Capital. Data from the CPCB’s Sameer app painted a grim picture: Wazirpur stood as the day’s worst-hit hotspot with an AQI of 477, while even the “cleanest” location, Lodhi Road, offered little comfort at 269 — firmly in the ‘poor’ zone.

Across the city, pollution hotspots glowed red on the map: Punjabi Bagh and Mundka at 441, RK Puram at 424, Anand Vihar at 427, Jahangirpuri at 453, Burari Crossing at 410, and Bawana at 443 — part of the 21 locations that slipped into the ‘severe’ category. Areas faring “better” barely broke free from distress, with IGI Airport T3 at 373, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at 392, and Pusa at 377 — all trapped in the ‘very poor’ zone.

The smog did not stop at Delhi’s borders. NCR cities, too, choked under its weight: Ghaziabad led with an AQI of 422, followed by Greater Noida at 420 and Noida at 409 — each sitting squarely in ‘severe’ territory.

Authorities moved quickly to enforce GRAP Stage 3 restrictions. Construction sites fell silent, water tankers criss-crossed main roads in an attempt to pin down dust, and fresh traffic curbs were rolled out across the region. Schools shifted primary classes to hybrid mode, shielding young lungs from the thickening haze.

As the pollution deepened and patience thinned, anger spilled onto the streets. Students, civil groups, and ordinary residents staged anti-pollution demonstrations, demanding immediate and decisive action. With the Supreme Court pressing the Centre for a long-term plan, the Capital once again found itself wrestling with its most persistent winter scourge — air that cannot be safely breathed.

With IANS inputs