Overview
- The IMD upgraded its warning to a red alert through Tuesday afternoon after visibility dropped to 50 metres at IGI Airport and Safdarjung, prompting CAT III low-visibility procedures and public advisories.
- At least 128 flights were cancelled, eight diverted and hundreds delayed on Monday, with Northern Railways reporting late-running trains and road traffic slowing under near-zero visibility in pockets.
- Tuesday morning brought slight improvement in citywide AQI to roughly 385–389 in the very poor range, yet multiple hotspots such as Wazirpur, Anand Vihar and Rohini registered severe readings above 450.
- Nowcasts showed yellow to orange fog alerts across different parts of Delhi as visibility gradually improved to 200–300 metres at some stations, while officials cautioned of continued early-morning impacts.
- Forecasting systems expect very poor air for the next two days and a return to severe around January 1, with light rain possible for brief relief, and attribution data pointing to transport as the largest pollution contributor at about 15%.