Happy New Year, Delhi! First morning of the year in ‘Gas Chamber’, more than 140 flights affected, AQI crosses 473

Forget about ‘Happy New Year’, for the people of Delhi-NCR, the first morning of 2026 has started with ‘guard’ on their breath. Today, on January 1, the capital Delhi is wrapped in such a thick blanket of dense fog and poisonous smoke that it seems as if the entire city has become a ‘gas chamber’. The situation is so bad that Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 473 this morning, which comes in the ‘hazardous’ category and is a kind of ‘health emergency’. The ‘blind’ fog is on the rise. Brakes: Vehicles are crawling on the roads because visibility in areas like Palam and Safdarjung is less than 50 meters, meaning it is difficult to see even a few steps away. The worst impact of this dense fog has been on air traffic. Chaos at the airport, New Year plans of passengers ‘ruined’! Due to dense fog, there has been an outcry at Delhi’s IGI Airport since Tuesday night: Big airlines like IndiGo and Air India have issued advisories for their passengers and have asked to check the status of their flights before coming to the airport. On Wednesday, more than 140 Flights were either canceled or badly delayed, and even today the situation remains the same. To help the passengers, Air India has started an initiative called ‘FogCare’, in which passengers can change their flight to a later date without paying any extra charge. So why suddenly so much ‘poison’ got mixed in the air of Delhi? The Meteorological Department says that the wind speed has stopped completely and the cold has increased. Because of this, all the poisonous smoke (PM2.5 and PM10) from vehicles and factories remains trapped in the air and is unable to fly. There is no hope of getting relief from this ‘double attack’ (fog + pollution) for the next 48 hours. Will the rain wash away this ‘poison’ of Delhi? The Meteorological Department has predicted light rain in Delhi today, which has given rise to a small ray of hope. If there is good rain, it can wash away the poison in the air. But, if only drizzle happens, it will increase the moisture further and make the fog denser than before. And can make it dangerous. At present, doctors have given strict instructions to children and the elderly not to go out of the house at all.