Delhi’s air quality remains moderate; slight rise in pollution levels

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a fresh western disturbance was likely to affect the western Himalayan region and adjoining plains of northwest India from December 8

Delhi’s air quality remained in the “moderate” category on Friday even as there was a slight rise in pollution levels and the mercury dipped to a degree below the normal. An average air quality index (AQI) of 187 (moderate) was recorded at 9am compared to 165 (moderate) at 4pm on Thursday.

A minimum temperature of 8.5°C was recorded on Friday. (ANI)

A minimum temperature of 8.5°C was recorded at Safdarjung, which is representative of Delhi’s weather. Clear skies and strong northwesterly winds have brought the temperatures down over the last two days after above-normal temperatures throughout November.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a fresh western disturbance was likely to affect the western Himalayan region and adjoining plains of northwest India from December 8 and cause drizzle in parts of the city.

The minimum temperatures were expected to dip further by next week and hover around 6°C. The maximum temperature was likely to dip to 23°C by next Monday. It was 25.1°C on Thursday and 28°C on Wednesday.

Clear skies and strong winds have kept pollution levels relatively low due to the dispersion of pollutants. A dip in air quality was expected on Friday despite wind speed staying near 10 km per hour.

“Delhi’s air quality is likely to be in the ‘poor’ category from December 6 to December 8. The AQI in the subsequent six days should be around ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’,” said the Early Warning System for Delhi (EWS) in its daily bulletin.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is classified 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”.