Delhi chokes in smog, AQI at 494; flights delayed, schools go online

A thick dense layer of smog engulfed Delhi on Tuesday, blurring silhouettes as the air quality index spiked to 494, the season’s highest. Visibility at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport dropped, leading to 180 flights being delayed and 6 cancelled, according to Flightradar. Amid the worsening air pollution, schools and universities across the Delhi-NCR region will conduct online classes starting today, as directed by the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the Railways on Tuesday said that 22 trains are delayed, and nine have been rescheduled due to pollution.
This came as Delhi-NCR remains under the Stage 4 pollution curbs of the Graded Response Action Plan. These measures include a ban on truck entry, except for those carrying essential items or using clean fuel like LNG, CNG, BS-VI diesel, or electric. Non-essential light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi are also prohibited unless they are electric, CNG, or BS-VI diesel. Construction at public projects has been halted entirely.