With a thick blanket of dense fog covering several areas of Delhi residents across the city on Tuesday experienced piercing cold as the minimum temperature settled at 7 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season’s average, as per the weatherman.

People across the city continued to brave the unbearable cold and the bad air, especially during the chilly morning hours. While some were seen gathered around bonfires at several places, night shelters remained packed to their capacity with the homeless. Some even took shelter in parks, bus stops or isolated places.

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According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) northern regions including Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and Delhi recorded minimum temperatures from 6 to 10 degrees Celsius, as cold continued to tighten its grip.

However, things got a little better towards the afternoon when the maximum temperature was recorded at 23.8 degrees C, the IMD said. The sky turned partly cloudy during the day.

The Weather Department has forecast dense fog in Delhi on Wednesday, with minimum and maximum temperatures to hover around 7 and 24 degrees Celsius.

The average Air Quality Index (AQI) on Tuesday was recorded at 377, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) daily air quality bulletin. As per the AQI level, the city continued to reel under the ‘very poor’ air category, with no respite from the toxic air. However, the air quality may further worsen on Wednesday and likely turn ‘severe’ as per the forecast by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).

“The air quality is likely to deteriorate and reach the severe category on 27.12.2023. The air quality is likely to remain in severe category from 28.12.2023 to 29.12.2023. The outlook for subsequent 6 Days: The air quality is likely to remain in the Very Poor to Severe category,” IITMs air quality bulletin said on Tuesday.

The civic body and other agencies are keeping a check on the biomass burning across the city, while vehicles are being checked for pollution on a regular basis by the authorities.

The actions under the Commission for Air Quality Management’s(CAQM) 8-point action plan as per Stage-III of GRAP are being strictly implemented across the city, to prevent the air quality from deteriorating further.

It was on December 22, the CAQM re-invoked the Graded Response Action Plan’s stage- III with as AQI had stepped into the ‘severe’ zone, recording index value above 400.