Visibility poor in Delhi amid dense fog despite improvement in minimum temperature

According to IMD officials, the maximum temperature is likely to stay slightly below 20°C till the end of this week, while the minimum is likely to stay between 7 and 8°C

Winter chills improved slightly for the second consecutive day in Delhi after the minimum temperature on Friday morning was recorded at 7.1 degrees Celsius, though it is one notch below the season normal even as a dense layer of fog kept visibility poor in several parts of the city since Thursday evening.

Students go to school bracing the cold, foggy weather in Delhi on Friday. (Parveen Kumar/ HT Photo)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts indicate that the foggy conditions are likely to clear as the day progresses, with the maximum temperature likely to stay slightly below 20°C. The maximum recorded on Thursday was 18.6°C, while the minimum stood at 6.6°C.

Visibility dropped to 400m at Palam around 10pm on Thursday, dropping further to 25m at 11.30pm; visibility dropped to 200m at Safdarjung around the same time.

According to IMD officials, the maximum temperature is likely to stay slightly below 20°C till the end of this week, while the minimum is likely to stay between 7 and 8°C. A dense layer of surface level fog is likely to keep visibility low in the early hours of the day over the weekend.

“Days will be mostly clear with good sunshine, pushing towards warm days and cold nights,” an IMD official said.

Meanwhile, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded at 347 (very poor) at 9.05am, deteriorating from Thursday’s 24-hour average of 318, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

The Commission for Air quality Management (CAQM) in NCR on Thursday lifted Stage 3, or ‘severe’ category, curbs under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) noting an improvement in air quality in Delhi over the past 24 hours.

This effectively lifts restrictions on the plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar, following directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). The ban on private construction across NCR has also been lifted with immediate effect, it said.

Stage 3 measures – when the AQI crosses 400 and is below 450 – have been invoked thrice this winter, the last being on January 14.

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the AQI is likely to stay ‘very poor’ till Saturday.