Ash Cloud From Ethiopia Moves Over North India: Should You Worry About Worsening Delhi-NCR Air Quality?

A large volcanic ash cloud from Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano reached Delhi, NCR, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh on late Monday night, causing precautionary flight delays and diversions across multiple airports in north India.

According to atmospheric observers, the plume mostly consists of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) along with low to moderate concentrations of volcanic ash. Importantly, the cloud remains between 25,000 and 45,000 feet, posing no significant threat to surface-level air quality.
 

Plume Extends Across North & Central India
The ash cloud is now stretching from the Oman–Arabian Sea region into the northern and central Indian plains. While plains are unlikely to experience notable ashfall, some isolated spots could witness minor deposits.
 

The SO₂ concentration is expected to rise over the hills of Nepal, the western Himalayas, and parts of the Terai belt, as the plume interacts with mountain terrain before drifting eastward toward China.
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No AQI Impact Expected on the Ground
Authorities emphasised that the cloud remains confined to mid-tropospheric levels, ensuring it will not affect ground-level AQI across any region.

Once again, this is at middle levels of the atmosphere, so there will not be any impact on the surface apart from some delays and changes in flight routes. Some particles may descend to the surface, but the likelihood remains low.

Aviation Disruptions Likely to Continue
A windborne cloud of ash from a volcanic eruption in Ethiopia has crossed swathes of Northwest India last night, crossing Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi-NCR and Punjab. This has hampered visibility and disrupted air traffic as it headed eastwards across the subcontinent. Ash clouds from the recent eruption of the HayliGubbi volcano in Ethiopia are impacting flight operations. Aviation regulator DGCA has issued an advisory yesterday to airlines and airports to deal with possible disruptions due to the ash plumes from this volcanic activity.  Akasa Air, IndiGo and KLM are among the airlines that cancelled some flights due to the ash plumes.