New Delhi: Delhiites woke up to a bad news this morning as an apocalyptic smog blotted out the sun from the sky and smudged landmarks from view with air quality inching closer to emergency levels.
As per Central Pollution Control Board data, air quality monitoring stations at Mandir Marg, Punjabi Bagh, Pusa, Rohini, Patparganj, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Najafgarh, Sri Aurobindo Marg and Okhla Phase 2 maxed out as air quality indexes hit the 500 mark.
According to an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the smog reduced the visibility to merely 300 meters in the morning affecting traffic.
Delhi recorded an AQI of 487 at 9 am, which falls in the severe category. The neighbouring cities of Faridabad (474), Ghaziabad (476), Noida (490), Greater Noida (467), and Gurugram (469) also recorded severe air quality.
This is the sixth severe air day on the trot in Delhi. The country’s capital witnessed seven severe air days in November last year.