After season's coldest night, Delhi wakes up to another day with toxic air
Delhi witnessed yet another dawn with a blanket of toxic air on Wednesday, as the capital recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 426 in the "severe" category, which followed the coldest night of the season in the city so far.
The city's minimum temperature dropped to 11.1 degrees Celsius on Tuesday night, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The drop in temperature combined with dense fog has blanketed the national capital, reducing visibility to 500 metres as of 8.30 am. The IMD has forecast dense fog to persist throughout the day.
Delhi had an AQI reading of 426 at 9 am on Wednesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
An AQI of 400 or higher is classified as "severe," posing health risks to healthy individuals and those with pre-existing medical conditions. All but one of the 38 monitoring stations in the national capital were in the red zone. The Lodhi Road station was not in the red zone recording an AQI in the "very poor" category.
Delhi's air quality first breached the "severe plus" category on Sunday, leading to the implementation of Stage IV restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan on Monday morning.
These measures include a complete ban on construction and demolition activities and suspension of physical classes in schools.
The city's minimum temperature dropped to 11.1 degrees Celsius on Tuesday night, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The drop in temperature combined with dense fog has blanketed the national capital, reducing visibility to 500 metres as of 8.30 am. The IMD has forecast dense fog to persist throughout the day.
Delhi had an AQI reading of 426 at 9 am on Wednesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
An AQI of 400 or higher is classified as "severe," posing health risks to healthy individuals and those with pre-existing medical conditions. All but one of the 38 monitoring stations in the national capital were in the red zone. The Lodhi Road station was not in the red zone recording an AQI in the "very poor" category.
Delhi's air quality first breached the "severe plus" category on Sunday, leading to the implementation of Stage IV restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan on Monday morning.
These measures include a complete ban on construction and demolition activities and suspension of physical classes in schools.