Delhi’s AQI in ‘poor’ category; min temperature to touch 6-degree mark from Tuesday

Delhi’s minimum temperature stood at 8.2°C which was a degree below normal but 0.8°C higher than Sunday’s minimum

Delhi’s air quality improved back to the ‘poor’ category on Monday, a day after turning ‘very poor’ again.

Delhi’s minimum temperature stood at 8.2°C which was a degree below normal. (ANI photo)

The average air quality index (AQI) stood at 212 (poor) at 9am on Monday, a drop from a reading of 302 (very poor) at 4pm on Sunday.

Meteorological experts said the improvement was down due to isolated rain and an increase in wind speed on Sunday.

“The deterioration to very poor was due to the fact that winds were less than 8 km/hr on Saturday. On Sunday, they picked up to 15 km/hr and we also had rain, which helps settles pollutants,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president, Skymet meteorology.

Delhi’s minimum temperature stood at 8.2°C which was a degree below normal but 0.8°C higher than Sunday’s minimum.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a sharp drop in minimum to the 6-degree mark between Tuesday and Thursday as the impact of the prevailing western disturbance and fresh snowfall is felt across the plains.

“Though the wind direction is mostly variable, it will become northwesterly from Tuesday onwards, which is when a further dip in temperature by 1-2°C is expected,” Palawat said, adding that some weather stations may start recording cold wave conditions during this period.

IMD defines a “cold wave” as when the minimum is at least 4.5°C below normal, even as the minimum is below 10°C.

Delhi’s AQI touched ‘very poor’ on Sunday for the first time since November 30.

The average AQI was 233 on Saturday, 197 on Friday and 165 on Thursday.