‘Orange alert’ on breathing! Delhi’s air again ‘very bad’, dense fog stops flights, IMD gives big warning

When the people of Delhi-NCR opened their eyes this morning, they saw not a clear sky but a thick white blanket of smog and poisonous smoke. Sore throat and burning sensation in the eyes… This is the welcome to the second day of the year 2026, where even breathing has become a punishment. The capital Delhi is in the grip of ‘very bad’ air and dense fog today. The situation is so serious that the Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued ‘Orange Alert’ for Delhi. This morning, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 369, which is very dangerous for health. ‘Blinding’ fog at the airport, passengers’ journey becomes ‘waiting’. The worst impact of this double whammy has fallen on air traffic. There is an atmosphere of chaos at Delhi’s IGI Airport since morning. Big airlines like IndiGo and Air India have issued advisories for their passengers, in which it has been said that flights may get delayed due to dense fog and low visibility. All passengers have been advised to check the status of their flight before leaving home, so that there is no need to wait for hours at the airport. These areas of Delhi ‘Red Zone’ has become, the air is the most poisonous. The condition of entire Delhi is bad, but the air of some areas has reached ‘severe’ category: NSIT Dwarka: AQI 411 (severe) JLN Stadium: AQI 362 (very bad) Mundka: AQI 347 (very bad) Dwarka Sector 8: AQI 338 (very bad) ITO: AQI 326 (very bad) Bad) What will happen next? Will there be relief? (Weather Forecast) According to the Meteorological Department, there is very little hope of relief this entire week. 2 January (today): There will be extremely dense fog in the morning. 3 January: Dense fog will prevail in the morning, but the situation may improve slightly during the day. 4 to 7 January: Fog will reduce a bit, but moderate level fog will remain. At present, the third phase of GRAP to deal with pollution in Delhi. (GRAP-3) is in force, under which many restrictions have been imposed. But the weather is not cooperating, due to which the situation is out of control. Doctors have given strict instructions to children and elderly people to avoid leaving the house in the morning and evening.