Delhi braces for dense fog, smog as orange alert issued for Monday

Delhi is set for another difficult start to the week as the India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert for very dense fog on Monday, with temperatures expected to remain chilly and visibility severely affected across the national capital.

The weather warning comes as pollution levels continue to remain dangerously high. On Sunday, Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 390, placing it in the “very poor” category, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Conditions were even more alarming in several neighbourhoods. Information from the CPCB’s Sameer App showed that 19 monitoring stations recorded air quality in the “severe” range, with Anand Vihar emerging as the worst-hit location, registering an AQI of 457. All other stations continued to show “very poor” air quality.


Under CPCB guidelines, an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as “good”, 51–100 “satisfactory”, 101–200 “moderate”, 201–300 “poor”, 301–400 “very poor”, and 401–500 “severe”.

Weather data from the IMD showed that the city’s minimum temperature dipped to 6.3°C, which is 0.5 degrees below the seasonal average, while the maximum temperature settled at 22.5°C, about 2.1 degrees above normal. The department expects temperatures on Monday to hover around 22°C during the day and fall to nearly 7°C at night.

Humidity levels remained extremely high on Sunday, touching 100 per cent by 5.30 pm, further worsening visibility and air quality across the city.