Overview
- Delhi’s IGI Airport reported about 228 flight cancellations and five diversions, with departures largely suspended from roughly 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. and hundreds of additional delays cascading through the day.
- Air quality hit the “severe” range, touching 498 in the morning before easing to 427 by evening, with CPCB data showing most monitoring stations recording hazardous levels.
- The Civil Aviation Ministry urged passengers to verify schedules as operations ran under CAT-III conditions; IndiGo cited below-minima visibility and offered fee waivers and refunds, while Air India cancelled around 40 flights and activated its Fog Care programme.
- Delhi moved nursery to Class 5 to online classes due to health risks, and AIIMS experts advised limiting outdoor exposure and using N95 masks for essential trips.
- Public frustration grew as a crowd chanted “AQI” at a Lionel Messi event featuring Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and the Singapore High Commission issued guidance for its nationals to follow local pollution advisories.