Delhi woke up to a thick layer of fog on Thursday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 6 a.m. reaching 448—just shy of the “severe-plus” category. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) categorizes AQI levels above 450 as “severe-plus,” indicating hazardous air quality. Of the 37 monitoring stations in the city, 21 reported AQI levels within the severe-plus range, including areas like Wazirpur (482), Nehru Nagar (485), and Anand Vihar (478).
Adjoining regions like Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram also recorded poor air quality, with AQI levels of 364, 381, and 376, respectively.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a dense fog alert for Delhi until Friday. The minimum temperature in the city on Wednesday dropped to 5°C, with visibility significantly reduced in many areas due to fog.
Other northern states, including Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, continue to experience biting cold. In Himachal Pradesh, the Met department has issued an orange alert for severe cold wave conditions in districts such as Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, and Mandi until Saturday. Tabo in Lahaul-Spiti recorded the coldest temperature at -7.4°C, while the plains shivered with temperatures hovering near freezing.
In Kashmir, minimum temperatures rose slightly but remained below freezing. Srinagar recorded a low of -4.5°C, while Gulmarg and Pahalgam saw temperatures of -5°C and -5.8°C, respectively. The intense cold has frozen parts of Dal Lake and water supply lines in the region.
Cold wave conditions have also reached parts of Karnataka, with districts like Bidar, Vijayapura, and Kalaburagi experiencing temperatures 2-4°C below normal. The IMD predicts these conditions to persist for the next three days. In Bengaluru Urban, Ramanagara, and Mysuru districts, isolated light rain is expected on December 23-24.
