Delhi's AQI worsens to 169 as IMD predicts monsoon withdrawal likely this week

Delhi’s AQI has steadily worsened over the past few days, rising from 88 on Friday to 118 on Saturday and 160 on Sunday.

Delhi’s air quality remained in the upper end of the moderate category, with the city recording an AQI of 169 at 4pm on Monday. Dry weather and low wind speed have contributed to the rise in pollution.

Evening haze seen at the Ashram Chowk underpass on Monday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said conditions are favourable for further withdrawal of the monsoon. The monsoon is likely to withdraw from Delhi in next two to three days and no rain activity is expected this week.

Delhi’s AQI has steadily worsened over the past few days, rising from 88 on Friday to 118 on Saturday and 160 on Sunday, with PM2.5 and ozone being the main pollutants. This is highest since July 19, when it stood at 171 (moderate).

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.

Monsoon withdraws, AQI shoots up

IMD official said the southwest monsoon has withdrawn from parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. “Conditions are favourable for its further withdrawal from the remaining parts of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Rajasthan and parts of Saurashtra & Kutch, Jammu-Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Uttar Pradesh in the next two to three days,” the IMD stated.

Eight of Delhi’s 42 active monitoring stations recorded ‘poor’ air quality on Monday. Siri Fort and Chandni Chowk recorded the highest AQI at 221, followed by IGI at 219, Burari at 215,Wazirpur at 213, Patparganj at 208, Narela at 207 and IIT at 202.

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 35.6°C on Monday and a minimum of 25°C. The maximum temperature is likely to remain around the same level, while the minimum temperature may fall gradually to 22-23°C by the weekend, according to the IMD.

Delhi has experienced relatively clean air over the past month due to monsoon rains and strong winds. In September, the city recorded 12 ‘satisfactory’ and eight ‘moderate’ air quality days.

On July 9, the city recorded its cleanest air day of the year, with the AQI falling in the ‘good’ category at 48. The last ‘poor’ air quality day was recorded on July 12, when the AQI was 246. The brief deterioration in AQI on July 12 and 13 was attributed to dust carried by winds from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan towards northwestern India, including Delhi, leading to elevated PM10 concentrations.