Ethiopian Volcano Ash Cloud Sweeps Over North India but Leaves Delhi’s AQI Largely Unaffected
IMD says the plume is confined to the upper troposphere—impacting flights but not surface air quality—while Delhi continues to battle ‘very poor’ pollution levels driven by local factors.
An ash cloud from Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano — which erupted on Sunday for the first time in nearly 12,000 years — drifted toward India on Monday night, sweeping across several northwestern states and disrupting flight operations in major cities. The plume, carried by upper-atmospheric winds, reached Delhi around 11 pm before spreading over Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the cloud will continue its eastward journey and is expected to exit India by 7:30 pm on Tuesday before moving toward China.
Despite the dramatic visuals and impact on aviation, experts say the ash cloud has not worsened Delhi’s already poor air quality. IMD Director General M Mohapatra explained that the volcanic ash is confined to the upper levels of the atmosphere. “The plume is in the upper-levels, so we will not see significant impact near the surface,” he told HT. Residents may notice a hazy sky for a few hours, but Mohapatra said the effect will be limited mostly to marginal temperature changes, similar to the warming caused by cloud cover.
Reiterating this to ANI, he said the ash, concentrated in the upper troposphere, is disrupting flights but has “no impact on air quality and weather.” Environmentalist Vimlendu Jha also noted that the cloud is unlikely to “immediately impact” Delhi’s AQI. Composed of sulphur dioxide and fine glass particles, the ash remains too high to influence surface pollution levels, though he stressed the need for continued monitoring.
Delhi’s air quality, meanwhile, remains driven by local factors. More than half of the city’s monitoring stations currently show AQI readings above 400 — in the ‘severe’ category — with some pockets touching 450 or higher. On Tuesday morning, the capital’s overall AQI stood at 362, classified as ‘very poor.’ By 2 pm, it had marginally improved to 356 but remained in the same category, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.