Dense fog blankets Delhi, AQI stays in 'very poor' category
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi woke up shrouded in fog on Wednesday morning, with little visibility and 'very poor' air.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for dense fog between 8.30 am and 10 am.
Visibility was recorded at 50 metres at both Palam and Safdarjung at 6.30 am, the weather office said. The national capital recorded a 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 384, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
A station-wise breakdown showed that 21 monitoring stations recorded 'very poor' air quality, while 16 stations were in the 'severe' category, with Anand Vihar registering the worst AQI at 452, according to data from the CPCB's SAMEER app.
According to CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
The air quality outlook remains grim, the Air Quality Early Warning System said, with the AQI likely to deteriorate to the 'severe' category on January 1, before letting up to the 'very poor' category on January 2.
For the subsequent six days, air quality is expected to remain 'very poor', it said.
Officials attributed the poor air to an unfavourable ventilation index of below 6,000 square metres per second and average wind speeds of less than 10 kmph, which are not conducive to the dispersion of pollutants.
On Tuesday, the AQI stood at 388, marking a marginal improvement from Monday, when the city recorded a 'severe' reading of 401.
On Wednesday, the IMD said the minimum temperature at Safdarjung and Ayanagar was recorded at 6.4 degrees Celsius, 0.4 degrees Celsius below normal. The maximum temperature is expected to be around 23 degrees Celsius. Dense fog is likely to persist through the day.
Palam station logged a minimum of 7.7 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 6.8 degrees Celsius, and the Ridge 7.8 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD.
On New Year's Day, the weather office has forecast a generally cloudy sky with light rain over the national capital.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
