Mercury drops to 7.6°C in Delhi, AQI improves to ‘very poor’ zone

Monday’s minimum was 1.4 degrees lower than Sunday’s minimum of 9°C. Forecasts show this is likely to oscillate between 7-8°C till at least December 11.

Delhi on Monday saw the return of northwesterly winds after a gap of three days, following the departure of a western disturbance that was influencing the northern plains, leading to a drop in mercury, with the city’s minimum temperature recorded at 7.6 degrees Celsius (°C) -- one degree below normal, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) on Monday was recorded at 347, significantly better than the 407 logged on Sunday. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Monday’s minimum was 1.4 degrees lower than Sunday’s minimum of 9°C. Forecasts show this is likely to oscillate between 7-8°C till at least December 11.

“Delhi was seeing calm wind conditions till Sunday, but that has started to improve during the day (on Monday). Delhi saw winds of 7-9 km/hr through the day, but it will once again become calm at nighttime, when temperature dips,” said RK Jenamani, scientist at IMD.

Meanwhile, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 25.6°C -- 1 degree above normal -- with Jenamani stating that in the absence of strong winds, day-time temperatures are unlikely to dip in the coming days, hovering between 25-26°C till December 11.

With a pick-up in the city’s surface wind speeds, Delhi’s air quality improved to the ‘very poor’ zone on Monday, the Central Pollution Control Board said in its daily bulletin released at 4pm, a day after the Capital’s pollution levels dropped into the ‘severe’ category.

Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) on Monday was recorded at 347, significantly better than the 407 logged on Sunday. The CPCB classifies an AQI between 0-50 as ‘good’, between 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, between 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, between 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, between 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’ and over 400 as ‘severe’.

Forecasts show Delhi’s AQI is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category for the next two days, and is may further improve to the ‘poor’ category by December 8.

“Delhi’s air quality is likely to improve but will remain in the ‘very poor’ category from December 6 and December 7, 2022. The air quality is likely to improve further, but will remain in the upper end of the ‘poor’ category on December 8, 2022. The outlook for subsequent six days shows the AQI will remain largely in the ‘very poor’ category,” said the Early Warning System (EWS) in Delhi, a forecasting model used by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).