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Dry spell to continue in Chandigarh, may worsen air quality
The normal amount of rain for the month of October is 22.2mm, but this year saw no rain the whole month
With no rain likely in the coming days and dry winds blowing in the region, the air quality index (AQI) in the city is likely to go up.
Director of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Surender Paul said, “The dry spell is likely to continue for at least the first two weeks of November, up to Diwali. The major sources of rain at this time are western disturbances, but no activity is being detected.”
The normal amount of rain for the month of October is 22.2mm. In the last decade, however, very little to no rain has been recorded in October. This year saw no rain the whole month.
Paul said winter was likely to be along normal lines this year and more details will be available in a long range forecast which will be issued by IMD in November.
However, he said the AQI in the city could worsen especially if precautions were not taken on Diwali: “Even if there is light rain, it can clean the air of pollutants, but their concentration increases during long periods of dry weather. If crackers are burst like in the previous years, by the middle of the month the AQI can become worse.”
Debendra Dalai, vice-president of the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC), said, “This year the AQI has been considerably better owing to the lockdown. By November due to temperature inversion, AQI usually gets poorer, but this year there isn’t much difference in what the AQI is now and what it was a few weeks back.”
He added that the department was working towards spreading awareness and keeping the AQI in the moderate bracket (up to 200) even after Diwali.
The AQI in the city stayed between 120-130 on Saturday.
The maximum temperature in the city went up from 30.7°C on Friday to 31.1°C on Saturday; the minimum temperature went up from 12.8°C on Friday to 14.1°C on Saturday. In the next three days, the maximum temperature will remain around 30°C and the minimum temperature will remain between 14°C and 15°C.
