Delhiites braved cold weather and air quality in ‘severe’ zone on Saturday.
Fog enveloped many areas across the city during the morning hours, reducing visibility up to 200 meters, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The minimum temperature in Delhi settled at 9.6 degrees Celsius, while the maximum was recorded at 24.4 degrees C, the weatherman said.
The city recorded an alarming level of average Air Quality Index (AQI) on Saturday, which was 450, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said.
As per the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology(IITM), the air quality is likely to remain in the ‘severe’ zone for the coming days and may turn ‘very poor’ on Monday, as per meteorological conditions.
The Commission for Air Quality Management(CAQM) has invoked Graded Response Action Plan(GRAP) stage- III on Friday to tackle the air pollution and prevent the same from worsening further.
Delhi government has ordered the concerned departments and agencies to implement actions in line with the CAQM orders.
Meanwhile, the homeless had no other option, but to brace the cold by taking refuge at the night shelters across the city.
Many people were seen sitting beside bonfires to save themselves from the cold during early morning hours and late nights.
Reportedly, night shelters at AIIMS and Safdarjung hospitals were filled with the people who had come along with the patients from outside Delhi, as well as the homeless in the surrounding areas.
There are many Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board(DUSIB) night shelters across the city that are witnessing increased footfall of people as a result of bone chilling cold.