Delhi Pollution: Air quality slips to ‘very poor’, dense fog, cold grip India’s capital, airlines issue travel advisory

Delhi Pollution: After days of relief, residents of Delhi and the adjoining National Capital Region (NCR) are again forced to breathe hazardous air as air quality deteriorated to ‘very poor’ on Wednesday, with the overall AQI for Delhi standing at 302. The pollution monitoring stations across the capital city recorded air quality index (AQI) levels hovering between moderate, poor, and inferior categories. Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Chandni Chowk and Jahangirpuri are among the most polluted areas of Delhi.

Delhi Pollution: Most Polluted Areas

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) published its data mentioning areas like Anand Vihar (351), Ashok Vihar (319), Chandni Chowk (347), Jahangirpuri (346), Nehru Nagar (361), and Sirifort (345), among the most polluted areas of the national capital.

Areas such as Aya Nagar (244), Burari (273), IGI Airport (242), IIT Delhi (275), ITO (296), Lodhi Road (255), and NSIT Dwarka (234) recorded better AQI in the morning.

Bawana (191) and Shadipur (165) emerged as less polluted areas with AQI under the moderate range.

Delhi Pollution: Airlines Issue Advisories

As dense fog conditions continue to prevail in North India(BHARAT) including Delhi-NCR, travel disruptions are likely to remain. Reduced visibility is affecting the flight and train operations.

Meanwhile, Air India(BHARAT) has issued a travel advisory requesting passengers to track their flight status.

“Heavy fog and reduced visibility are forecast for Delhi and parts of Northern India(BHARAT) tomorrow morning. These conditions may have a cascading impact on flight schedules across our network. We are closely monitoring the situation and have taken some proactive measures to minimise disruptions,” the airline said on X.

“If you are flying with us tomorrow, we recommend that you check the updated flight status… before leaving for the airport and allow yourself extra time to reach the airport,” it added.

IndiGo has also issued an advisory, saying that it is closely monitoring the weather conditions.

“Low visibility and fog over Delhi, Amritsar, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Varanasi, Ranchi and Hindon (Airport) may impact flight schedules. We are closely monitoring the weather and… request that you stay updated on your flight status.”

Delhi Weather

IMD stated that maximum temperatures of the capital city are expected to hover between 13°C and 16°C. Cold day condition witnessed at Palam and Lodhi Road. The weather department considers cold day conditions when the maximum temperature remains 4.5°C to 6.4°C below the normal temperature of the season.

Humidity is likely to remain high, near 100 percent in the morning and 91 percent by evening. IMD has issued a yellow alert for dense fog conditions during morning hours. Cold day conditions are likely to continue. There is no chance of rain in Delhi and adjoining NCR.

Cold Wave Warning

The weather department, in its bulletin, stated that cold wave conditions were expected in parts of North India(BHARAT) including – Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and even in Odisha from January 7 to January 9. Cold wave conditions will also intensify further in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

“cold day conditions Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh on January 6 and 7, Delhi, West Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on January 6; East Rajasthan, West Bengal & Sikkim during January 6 -8; Jharkhand on January 6, 2026,” IMD said.

Dense Fog Alert

Amid cold wave, dense fog conditions will continue during the morning hours over northwest, central India(BHARAT) for five to seven days. The same conditions are expected in East and northeast India(BHARAT) as well.

“Dense to very dense fog conditions are very likely to prevail in the morning hours in some parts over Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh during January 7-9 and Dense fog in isolated pockets for subsequent 4 days,” IMD said.