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Chandigarh turns more polluted than Delhi as dense fog settles in

Jan 17, 2025 01:58 AM IST

As per the daily AQI bulletin released by the Central Pollution Control Board for Thursday, Chandigarh’s AQI was 319, compared to Delhi’s 302 

As dense fog engulfed Chandigarh on the intervening night between Wednesday and Thursday, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) surpassed that of the normally more polluted New Delhi.

Relief unlikely until next week as foggy conditions are expected to continue till then in Chandigarh, says IMD. (Ravi Kumar/HT)
Relief unlikely until next week as foggy conditions are expected to continue till then in Chandigarh, says IMD. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

With foggy conditions likely to continue in the coming days, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the pollution levels are expected to stay elevated. But relief is on the way, as there are chances of rain next week that will help clear the pollutants.

As per the daily AQI bulletin released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for Thursday, Chandigarh’s AQI was 319, compared to Delhi’s 302 — both falling in the “very poor” category.

Chandigarh was the third most polluted city in the country after Buxar in Bihar and Churu in Rajasthan. A day ago, the City Beautiful’s AQI was 232, considered “poor”, as per the bulletin released on Wednesday.

The daily bulletin is prepared by taking the average AQI of all stations in a city at 4 pm.

The southern parts of the city were particularly affected on Thursday. By 6 pm, the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) in Sector 53 reported an AQI of 333, while Sector 25 recorded 323 and Sector 22, 316.

An AQI between 301-400 poses a risk of respiratory illnesses with prolonged exposure. Even between 201-300, it can cause breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure.

IMD Chandigarh director Surender Paul explained that dense fog increased the concentration of pollutants in the air, leaving less room for them to disperse.

Meanwhile, TC Nautiyal, member secretary of the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC), noted that although Chandigarh was a relatively small city with a high green cover, it still occasionally experienced poor AQI levels. He emphasised the need for more detailed studies to understand how local weather patterns impacted air quality.

Chill returns as temp drops to 17.8°C

Due to the foggy conditions, followed by light rain, the city’s maximum temperature, which had remained over 20°C for the past three days amid sunny weather, plunged to 17.8°C on Thursday, 0.4 degree below normal.

On Wednesday, the city had enjoyed clear skies that kept the maximum temperature at 21.7°C.

Visibility had dropped to 80 metres at 11.30 pm on Wednesday night and further reduced to 70 metres at 5.30 am on Thursday morning. However, this was followed by some rain that improved visibility. The rain meter read 0.7 mm at the IMD observatory in Sector 39, while no reading was taken at the airport.

Amid overcast skies, the minimum temperature rose from 6.9°C on Wednesday to 10.6°C on Thursday, 3.2 degrees above normal.

4 flights cancelled, 10 delayed

Due to reduced visibility, as many as four flights were cancelled and 10 were delayed at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport on Thursday.

Among the cancelled flights, three were by IndiGo — scheduled to arrive from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, while one was an Air India flight set to depart for Delhi.

Apart from this, three flights arrived late, while seven flights’ departure was also delayed due to hazy weather.

Orange alert in place for dense fog

IMD has declared an orange alert for dense to very dense fog in the city on Friday and Saturday. Orange is the second highest of the four colour warning system used by IMD, asking people to stay alert and be prepared to take action.

A fresh Western Disturbance (WD) is likely next week, with chances of rain around January 21, as per initial forecast.

Over the next three days, the maximum temperature may rise to anywhere between 19°C and 21°C, while the minimum temperature will remain between 9°C and 10°C.

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