The capital witnessed a fog-laden morning on Wednesday as maximum temperature continued to remain low — resulting in air quality deteriorating through the day. Pollution levels remained in the “poor” category as Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) rose from 214 on Tuesday to 271 on Wednesday.
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Experts forecast a drop in minimum temperatures from Thursday with cooler winds blowing from the north.
Delhi’s maximum temperature on Wednesday was recorded at 21.3 degrees Celsius — two notches below normal for the season, while the minimum was recorded at 12 degrees Celsius, which is three degrees above normal. The minimum temperature, however, may fall by nearly four degrees on Thursday and will hover around 8 degrees Celsius, experts from the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC) in Delhi said.
“There was moderate to dense fog due in places due to the rain on Monday as moisture content was high. Now minimum temperatures will start dropping again with icy cold winds blowing from the north, after snow starts melting in the higher parts,” said a RWFC official.
There will be shallow fog on Thursday morning. The minimum will be 8 degrees, while the maximum will be around 21 degrees Celsius,” said the official.
Delhi’s average PM2.5 levels according to CPCB’s central control room were recorded at 130 micrograms per cubic metre at 8pm on Wednesday, while the average PM10 levels were recorded at 205 micrograms per cubic metre — both around two times the safe standard. The prescribed limits for both ultrafine particles is 60 and 100 micrograms per cubic metre.
Forecasts according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) show slight improvement in air quality on Thursday, however the pollution levels are likely to spike to three times the safe standard over the next three days.
Delhi’s average PM2.5 levels were around 2-3 times the safe standard with DTU the most polluted in the “very poor” category. In NCR, Ghaziabad was the most polluted with an AQI of 359, while Faridabad was the cleanest — recording “moderate” air quality.