Some rain, more chills in store for Delhi this week

Delhi’s air quality remained in the “very poor” category for a fourth day in a row, but is expected to improve to the “poor” range by Tuesday, due to rainfall

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light rain in the early hours of Monday, issuing a yellow alert, due to a fresh western disturbance that is expected to bring more snowfall to the mountains and subsequently, lead to a drop in temperature from January 8.

Low visibility in the Capital due to fog. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Delhi’s air quality remained in the “very poor” category for a fourth day in a row, but is expected to improve to the “poor” range by Tuesday, due to rainfall, experts said.

“A fresh western disturbance will bring snowfall to the mountains on both Sunday and Monday and for Delhi-NCR, there are chances of light rain on Monday. This spell will lead to cloudiness and soon after, wind speeds are expected to pick up. These cold northwesterly winds will begin to impact temperature, leading to a drop in both maximum and minimum,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet meteorology, adding it will also have a positive impact on Delhi’s air quality.

The average air quality index (AQI) for the day was 339 at 4pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB’s) daily bulletin, marking a slight improvement from a reading of 378 (“very poor”) recorded a day earlier.

Forecasts by the Centre’s Early Warning System (EWS) said the AQI is expected to remain over 300 on Monday, before dipping below 300 on Tuesday and touching “poor”.

Delhi’s maximum temperature on Sunday was 18.6 degrees Celsius (°C), which was less than a degree below above normal. It was 20°C on Saturday, which was a degree above normal. The minimum temperature was 9.4°C, which was three degrees above normal and up from 7.8°C recorded a day earlier.

IMD has forecast the maximum temperature to dip to 16°C by January 8, as cold northwesterly winds return. The minimum, too, is expected to drop by 2-3°C and touch 7°C by January 9, it said, making both days and nights chilly again.

Similar to Saturday, Delhi also witnessed “very dense” fog on Sunday, with visibility down to zero at the Palam observatory between 4am and 7.30am, while it was 50 metres at Safdarjung at around 5.30am. IMD has forecast fog intensity to marginally reduce on Monday, with moderate fog expected in most parts of the city and dense fog in isolated pockets.