Articles by Apexa Rai

Technology

Delhi's air stays toxic; state govt orders offices to work at 50% capacity

Delhi’s air quality continued to stay in the ‘severe’ to ‘very poor’ zones on Tuesday, with several monitoring stations reporting the Air Quality Index (AQI) above safe limits. At 8 am, the Anand Vihar station registered an AQI of 400, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), as smog covered the city through the morning. Delhi’s overall AQI stood at 362 at 8 am, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category for another day. The CPCB categorises AQI readings between 300 to 400 as ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 as ‘severe,’ signalling potential respiratory impact even on healthy individuals.Key hotspots reported alarming levels:Anand Vihar: 400Bawana: 389Ashok Vihar: 385Rohini: 416Wazirpur: 399Under CPCB classifications, AQI levels between 0–50 are considered “good”, 51–100 “satisfactory”, 101–200 “moderate”, 201–300 “poor”, 301–400 “very poor” and 401–500 “severe”.NCR sees mixed readingsNeighbouring regions showed varying conditions. Noida logged a ‘very poor’ 397, though with slight improvement. Greater Noida recorded comparatively lower levels at 382. In Gurugram, AQI stood at 286 (‘ poor’), while Manesar was at 342.Volcanic ash from Ethiopia reaches DelhiA cloud of volcanic ash from a rare eruption in northern Ethiopia reached Delhi around 11 pm on November 24, forming a thin, hazy layer over parts of the city. The ash originated from the Hayli Gubbi volcano, which erupted for the first time in thousands of years. Over the past day, the plume travelled across the Red Sea and West Asia, with meteorological agencies closely tracking its movement toward northwest India. ALSO READ: Ash cloud from Ethiopia's Hayli Gubbi volcano reaches India: Key detailsWill the volcanic ash affect Delhi’s air quality?According to IndiaMetSky Weather, the plume contains mostly sulphur dioxide, along with small to moderate amounts of volcanic ash. It is drifting from the Oman-Arabian Sea region toward northern and central India. While it is unlikely to affect air quality at ground level in India, sulphur dioxide levels may rise over Nepal’s hills, the Himalayan region, and the nearby Terai belt, as parts of the plume could interact with the mountains before moving onward toward China.Update06: The Ash plume mostly consists of Sulphur Dioxide with low to moderate concentrations of Volcanic Ash. Its now stretching from Oman-Arabian sea region into Plains of North & Central India. Its will not impact AQI levels but it will impact So2 level at #Hills of #Nepal,… https://t.co/f95r95mLMi pic.twitter.com/WQOOhKmyHM— IndiaMetSky Weather (@indiametsky) November 24, 2025Govt orders offices to operate at 50% capacityThe Delhi government on Monday directed all government and private offices to operate at 50 per cent staff strength, with the remaining employees working from home, as pollution levels continued to worsen. The order was issued under the revised Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) recently shifted several Stage IV measures, including work-from-home directives, into Stage III to prevent further deterioration of air quality in Delhi-NCR. ALSO READ: As toxic air chokes Delhi, govt orders offices to operate at 50% capacity Under the new order, administrative secretaries and department heads must attend office, but only half of the staff can be physically present. Private offices must follow the same cap.Cold and foggy weather in Delhi todayDelhi’s minimum temperature is set to remain between 8-10 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The sky will remain mostly clear, but fog and mist are expected to persist especially during the morning hours. The maximum temperature may reach around 23-25 degrees Celsius.