Orange alert issued due to dense fog; Air quality reached 400+ level; 177 flights cancelled: – ..

The deadly combination of dense fog and polluted air quality has made life almost impossible in Delhi. With the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing an ‘Orange Alert’ on Saturday, December 20 and the air quality index falling into the ‘severe’ category, the city is set to face its worst weather so far this year.

Chaos in aviation sector: 177 flights cancelled, hundreds delayed

Dense fog has caused major disruption in flights at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. Yesterday morning, visibility at Safdarjung station was reduced to zero due to fog and at Palam station it was only 50 meters, due to which a ‘red alert’ was issued in the aviation sector.

canceled flights : A total of 177 flights (88 outgoing and 89 incoming) were canceled yesterday alone.

delay : Around 700 flights were badly delayed and waiting times for inbound and outbound flights reached 49 minutes. As of Saturday morning the ‘Low Visibility Procedure’ (LVP) is still in place. There may be further changes in the flight timings of airline Indigo and Air India Express.

Air quality has reached ‘severe’ category.

Delhi’s air quality, which remained in the “very poor” category for most of the week, finally crossed the 400 mark on Saturday morning and entered the “severe” category. This decline came when the average AQI was 374 on Friday. The average AQI was recorded at 403 in various areas on Saturday morning.

pollution hotspots

The air quality levels were highest recorded in Vivek Vihar (434) and Anand Vihar (430), where toxicity levels reached emergency levels at about a dozen stations. Forecast: Air quality levels are likely to remain above 400 on Sunday and Monday due to steady wind speeds.

‘Inversion trap’ and historical rainfall deficit

Experts have identified a “dangerous temperature inversion effect” caused by falling temperatures, which creates a “lid”-like structure that traps pollutants near the Earth’s surface. There is a possibility of a sharp drop in the temperature, the minimum temperature will be between 7°C to 9°C.

The dirtiest December ever

This is going to be the most polluted December in the last eight years. The lack of rain in December has made it impossible for pollutants to be “washed out” of the atmosphere.