Delhi records season’s lowest temperature today; AQI to be ‘very poor’

Forecasts by the Early Warning System for Delhi, used by CAQM, showed that Delhi’s AQI is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category till January 13

Delhi woke up to a hazy day today as visibility fell to as low as 25 metres in Palam, while Safdarjung reported its lowest visibility at 50 metres as of 5:30 am on Thursday morning, data shared by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed.

An elderly person braces the weather on a cold winter morning in New Delhi. (ANI Photo)

Safdarjung recorded a minimum of 3 degrees Celsius in the morning, while Lodhi Road recorded a low of 2.8 degrees, the lowest of the season. The IMD has forecast ‘cold wave’ conditions for Delhi both today and tomorrow.

Delhi recorded its previous lowest minimum of the season on Wednesday after Safdarjung reported a low of 4.4 degrees Celsius. Before that, the city lowest minimum this winter was 5 degrees Celsius on December 26.

The IMD declares a ‘cold wave’ in a region when the minimum temperature is 4.5 degrees, or more, below the normal mark, or when it drops to 4 degrees or lower.

The ‘very dense’ fog meanwhile delayed flights in the wee hours of the day, with the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport informing that low visibility procedures were in place at the Delhi airport.

“Low visibility procedures are in progress at Delhi Airport. All flight operations are presently normal. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information.” the airport tweeted at 6:15 am.

The IMD classifies fog as shallow when visibility dips below 1,000 metres, as ‘moderate’ when visibility is between 200 and 500 metres, and ‘dense’ when it is below 200 metres. It is ‘very dense’ when visibility is below 50 metres.

While flights can still land at an airport when visibility is 50 metres, no aircraft is allowed to depart unless the runway visibility range (RVR) is 125 metres.

Delhi’s minimum temperature at 5:30 am was recorded at 7.2 degrees Celsius in Safdarjung, which is 0.8 degree lower than Wednesday at the same time.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air remained in the ‘very poor’ category, but showed slight improvement in the morning. The air quality index (AQI) was recorded as 339 (very poor) at 7 am – a dip from Wednesday’s 4 pm reading of 343 (very poor), the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.

Delhi’s air quality improved on Wednesday, dropping to the lower end of the ‘very poor’ category, prompting the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas to revoke all measures under Stage-III of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) with immediate effect.

The lifting of the ban allowed private construction activities, brick kilns and hot mix plants not operating on clean fuels to resume operations across NCR.

Forecasts by the Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi, used by CAQM, showed that Delhi’s AQI is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category till January 13.

The CPCB classifies an AQI between 0 and 50 as ‘good’, 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’, and over 400 as ‘severe’.

“Delhi’s air quality is likely to improve but will remain in the ‘very poor’ category on January 5. It will again deteriorate slightly, but will still be in the ‘very poor’ category on January 6 and 7. The outlook for the subsequent six days shows Delhi’s AQI will largely remain in ‘very poor’ category,” the EWS said.