Winds lower Delhi’s mercury to a cool 27.1°C, keep air clean for 2nd day
These conditions are likely to persist over the next three days, with the Met department predicting isolated heavy showers in the region till Tuesday.
The maximum temperature in Delhi on Friday fell to a breezy 27.1°C, well below the normal for this time of year, on the back of strong winds that also kept the city’s air relatively clean for a second straight day.
These conditions are likely to persist over the next three days, with the Met department predicting isolated heavy showers in the region till Tuesday.
Friday’s maximum temperature (27.1°C) at Safdarjung observatory was seven degrees below normal for this time of year, showed data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The minimum fell to 21.8°C, which is on par for the first week of October.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) on Friday, meanwhile, fell to 55 (categorised as satisfactory), from 79 a day ago, which itself was a sharp drop from 211 on Wednesday.
Met officials said Delhi is reaping the benefits of a trough that is currently stretching from the cyclonic circulation over coastal Andhra Pradesh to Uttarakhand, across Telangana, western Madhya Pradesh and western Uttar Pradesh in lower tropospheric levels. This, said officials, is resulting in heavy showers in these states and is also aiding cloudy conditions and light showers in neighbouring states, including Delhi.
“Currently Delhi is receiving easterly winds. The day was largely cloudy, with light showers in some parts, which kept temperatures down and also kept the pollution levels low. These conditions are expected to continue over the weekend too,” said a senior IMD official.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet Weather Services, said Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) are likely to enjoy pleasant weather till October 11.
“After October 11, winds are expected to blow in from the northwest again. From October 15, Delhi will start seeing a slight drop in temperature. A slight haze will envelop the city early in the morning and later in the evening,” Palawat said.
Weather experts also pointed out that continuous spells of rain in the entire region, coupled with high wind speeds are helping disperse smoke from stubble fires in Punjab and Haryana.
The rain is also resulting in fewer fires, noted Met officials.
Pollutants picked up marginally on Tuesday and Wednesday, largely due to the combined effects of effigy burning on Dusshera, emissions from Punjab and Haryana and slower winds.
“The weather conditions are keeping the pollutants at bay and the air quality in major parts of northwest India is likely to remain in the ‘moderate’ to ‘satisfactory’ category in these states over the next two days,” said a senior scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune, which provides regular air quality forecasts for Delhi via their Decision Support System (DDS).
The forecast issued by the Union ministry of earth science’s Safar also explained, “AQI today (Friday) indicates ‘good’ air quality due to washing out of pollutants by last night’s rain...For the next three days (October 8, 9 and 10) peak wind speed is likely to be ~ 12-16 km/h causing moderate dispersion. AQI is likely to be within the ‘good’ or ‘lower end of satisfactory’ range due to light rain spells. Moderate temperature (~ 27-28 degree Celsius) and mixing layer height (~ 1.0 km) maintains moderate ventilation.”