Delhi wakes up to toxic air as AQI breaches 400 mark; thick smog envelops NCR

Delhi woke up on Sunday under a heavy, choking veil of smog, as air quality in the national capital plummeted deep into the ‘very poor’ category — with several pockets gasping under ‘severe’ pollution levels.

The city’s skyline, once flushed with winter’s soft light, was instead blurred into a ghostly haze, as calm winds and a dense blanket of particulate matter hung low over the metropolis.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 372 at 6:30 am, marking a sharp deterioration overnight. In several neighbourhoods, the numbers painted an even grimmer picture — Wazirpur (425), RK Puram (418), Bawana (410), Rohini (409) and Dwarka (401) all breached the ‘severe’ threshold, turning the morning air into a toxic brew of dust, smoke, and exhaust fumes. Across most of the capital’s monitoring stations, readings between 300 and 400 reflected the city’s widening struggle to breathe.

The suffocating smog was mirrored across the National Capital Region, where Faridabad (312), Gurugram (325), Noida (301), Greater Noida (308) and Ghaziabad (322) recorded similarly dire air quality, trapping millions under a pall of pollution.

Meteorologists attributed the crisis to stagnant winds and high humidity, which allowed pollutants to accumulate rather than disperse. Delhi’s primary weather station at Safdarjung reported a visibility of just 900 metres, while Palam fared slightly better at 1,300 metres — both shrouded in a thick mix of fog and smog. Wind speeds lingered around 4 kmph, too feeble to stir the heavy air.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) noted that the capital recorded a maximum temperature of 30.5°C, about three degrees below the seasonal norm, and a minimum of 19.4°C, slightly above average. With humidity levels hovering at 73 per cent, the atmosphere became a perfect incubator for smog formation.

Saturday evening’s AQI of 303 had already sounded alarms, but by dawn, the air had thickened into a noxious cloud as stagnant conditions and overnight emissions worsened pollution levels.

Environmental experts warned that without strong northwesterly winds or rain, Delhi’s air may deteriorate further in the coming days. With stubble burning season peaking across neighbouring Punjab and Haryana, and local emissions from vehicles, construction dust, and waste burning adding to the toxic load, the capital now finds itself bracing for yet another grim chapter in its annual pollution crisis — a crisis that turns each winter morning into a test of endurance for its weary citizens.

With IANS inputs