Air very poor; fog worse

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Monday in Delhi, where fog delayed over 13 trains and disrupted flight operations in the morning hours.Authorities said that while air quality had improved to the lower end of ‘very poor’ since Sunday due to additional rain and improved wind speed, it is unlikely to improve further as weather conditions remained unfavourable for dispersion
of pollutants.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city was recorded at 333, which is in the ‘very poor’ category. An AQI between 100 and 200 comes under ‘moderate’ category, 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, while that between 401 and 500 is ‘severe’.

Eleven areas in Delhi recorded ‘severe’ air quality, while 25 had ‘very poor’ air quality, it said.The concentration of harmful pollutants PM2.5 (Particulate Matter) and PM10 in the ambient air was recorded at 145 microgramme per cubic metre (ug/m3), and 240 ug/m3, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).“The AQI may remain low until tomorrow and then likely to deteriorate slowly but will remain in ‘very poor’ range for next three days,” SAFAR said.

Fog disrupts life

According to the India Meteorological Department, the visibility dropped to zero at Palam between 6.30 a.m. and 7.30 a.m. while it was 200 metres in Safdarjung. “Fog Alert — Low Visibility Procedures have been implemented at Delhi Airport... Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for the updated flight info,” the official Twitter handle of the Indira Gandhi International Airport stated.The weather department has predicted dense fog on Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature was recorded at 20.1 degrees Celsius, while the minimum settled at 7.1 degrees Celsius. On Sunday, the minimum was 8.6 degrees Celsius, while the maximum was 19.6 degrees Celsius.

One runway shut for an hour

At the IGI Airport, one of the runways had to be shut down from 9 am to 10 am due to low visibility. Runway 29 started operating post 10 am. The minimum runway visibility required for take-off is 125 metres.