Air quality edges close to ‘severe’ as AQI crosses 400-mark, city shivers near 0°C? IMD issues orange alert

Delhi Pollution: Amid intense cold wave conditions, the air quality of the capital city plunged to the ‘very poor’ category as several areas crossed the 400 AQI mark.

Delhi Pollution: Residents of Delhi and the adjoining National Capital Region (NCR) woke up to a shivery morning on Wednesday with dense fog enveloping the region. The temperature is expected to dip further to 4 degrees Celsius. The daytime temperature is expected to hover between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius. Amid the cold wave conditions, the air quality in Delhi remains in the ‘very poor’ category as the AQI has crossed the 400 mark in many areas. According to the Sameer app, the overall AQI stood at 360 today.

Delhi Pollution: Area-Wise AQI

The air quality of the capital city remained in the ‘Very Poor’ category on Wednesday, with the overall AQI standing at 360. Out of 33 air quality stations, 5 stations recorded ‘severe’ air quality.

#WATCH | Visuals from India Gate in New Delhi. AQI in the area is ‘378’ in the ‘Very Poor’ category as claimed by CPCB. pic.twitter.com/RzJDupTBDN
— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2026

Delhi Weather

The capital city is under double attack. Severe cold wave and dense fog continue to in persist in Delhi-NCR. The weather department has issued an Orange alert for a cold wave today.

Add India.com as a Preferred Source

The daytime or maximum temperature is expected to hover around 20 degrees Celsius throughout the day. Delhi is witnessing cold wave conditions for almost a week, the temperature dropped to its lowest on Monday as the capital city recorded 2 degrees Celsius, which felt like near zero degrees Celsius with speedy winds.

Cold Wave Warning Issued for North India

The country geared up to celebrate Makar Sankranti on Wednesday. The festival will be celebrated amid persistent cold wave conditions across large parts of northern India. The IMD has hinted at the start of a gradual shift in winter’s grip.

#WATCH | Dense fog engulfs Moradabad as cold wave continues to grips North India pic.twitter.com/KfXbSzFbwM
— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2026

Dense fog conditions is expected during the morning hours at several locations across Punjab and northern Haryana. The temperatures are expected to rise from Friday, bringing slow relief from the prevailing cold wave.

Similar cold wave conditions are very likely in Rajasthan and north-western Uttar Pradesh. The most affected parts of UP will be Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit, Moradabad, Rampur, Saharanpur, Najibabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Bulandshahr.

Snowfall In Hilly States

In the Western Himalayas, patches of clouds are expected today. A fresh western disturbance is likely to hit from January 15, due to which snowfall is expected in the higher reaches.