Strong winds bring down max mercury in Delhi, AQI still poor

Late on Monday, parts of the city received light rain, which IMD officials attributed to a western disturbance affecting NCR

The maximum temperature in Delhi dropped by nearly four degrees to 30.5 degrees Celsius (°C) on Monday, as strong, cool winds brought the Capital some relief from the warm afternoons.

Smog near India Gate in the early hours of Monday in New Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/HT)

The breeze also helped cut the pollution marginally, with the air quality index (AQI) briefly improving to the “moderate” zone in the morning, before creeping back into the early reaches of “poor” category in the afternoon.

Late on Monday, parts of the city received light rain, which officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) attributed to a western disturbance affecting the National Capital Region.

“There are chances of very light rain and drizzle being recorded in the early hours of Tuesday, before the impact of this western disturbance starts to weaken,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.

IMD officials said the rain may bring temperatures down further.

Monday’s day temperature was the lowest in Delhi since September 10 — when the maximum dipped to 28.3°C. The maximum temperature on Sunday was 34.6°C.

Monday’s minimum temperature was 21.1°C. IMD officials said this could dip to 17°C by Thursday.

Meanwhile, Delhi logged a 24-hour average AQI of 207 at 4pm on Monday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) evening bulletin released at 4pm.

Strong winds early on Monday saw AQI dip to 196, in the “moderate” category, at 10am, before an increase in dust and PM10 levels pushed it back to “poor”. A day earlier, the AQI was 233.

“With the wind speed being high, it is easy for local topsoil to get lifted. With the wind direction, the dust may have also come from Haryana,” said IMD’s Srivastava.

IMD officials added that a drizzle on Tuesday morning might help improve Delhi’s AQI to “moderate” once again.

Meanwhile, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Monday said that the Delhi government has planted around 4 million saplings across the city so far as part of its annual tree plantation drive.

The minister was at Garhi Mandu near Shastri Park where he launched the second phase of the campaign, which was launched on July 9 this year.

“I have no doubt that we can successfully complete this tree-planting initiative, which will help in intensifying our efforts to combat Delhi’s pollution,” Rai said.