A western disturbance affecting the region...
Delhi’s air quality remained in the higher end of the “very poor” category on Thursday due to slow winds of around five km per hour even as a shallow to moderate fog blanketed parts of the city and the minimum temperature rose to 9.2°C. Palam recorded visibility of 1,000 metres at 7am, which dipped to 700m at 8.30am. The visibility at Safdarjung dipped from 800 metres at 6.30am to 500 metres two hours later.
Safdarjung, a key location representing Delhi’s weather, recorded a minimum temperature of 9.2°C, which is 0.8°C higher than normal and 2.8°C above Thursday’s reading. Meanwhile, Palam saw a minimum temperature of 10.7°C, 1.8°C higher than the previous day.
A western disturbance affecting the region is expected to bring thunderstorms on February 3-4, slow down wind speeds, and cause temperatures to rise. The mercury is predicted to reach 25-27°C.
At 9 am, the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 380 (very poor), compared to the 24-hour average of 365 (poor) at 4 pm on Wednesday.
The worsening air quality led the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region to implement Stage 3 measures under the Graded Response Action Plan. These measures include halting non-essential construction and demolition, banning older diesel vehicles, suspending mining operations, and closing stone crushers.
The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi has said the AQI was expected to remain in the “very poor” category until Saturday with meteorological conditions likely to be unfavourable for effective pollutant dispersion. The air quality was expected to be in “very poor” to “poor” category for the subsequent six days.
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