Delhi’s air in ‘poor’ zone, may dip further on Wednesday as wind speed slows down

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), ministry of earth science’s weather and air quality monitoring centre, forecast also shows the AQI is likely to plunge to the lower end of the “very poor” category by Wednesday.

Delhi’s air quality deteriorated further into the ‘poor’ category on Tuesday as the wind speed slowed down and the temperature dropped.

An IMD scientist said that from Wednesday, the wind will get slower and there is a forecast of shallow to dense fog in the morning hours, pushing Delhi’s air into ‘very poor’ category. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

The average overall air quality index (AQI) on Tuesday was recorded at 282, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin— a dip from Monday’s 279.

The minimum temperature on Tuesday was 9 degree Celsius, up by a notch compared to Monday’s 8 degrees. The maximum temperature was 24.4 degree Celsius, one degree below the season’s normal.

Scientists warned that from Wednesday, the temperature and the air quality are expected to take a dip.

“From Wednesday, the wind will get slower and there is a forecast of shallow to dense fog in the morning hours. On Tuesday, the average wind speed during the day was about 8kmph,” Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said.

Srivastava said as the week progresses, the minimum temperature will dip to reach nearly 7 degree Celsius. Another IMD scientist said there is a forecast of cloudy sky on Thursday, and the weekend is expected to get colder.

“The temperature is expected to go down from Thursday and the dense air and the low wind speed will hamper the dispersion of pollutants,” said the senior scientist.

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), ministry of earth science’s weather and air quality monitoring centre, forecast also shows the AQI is likely to plunge to the lower end of the “very poor” category by Wednesday.

“The AQI is likely to stay at the poor category for today (Tuesday) and marginally deteriorate and in the lower end of the ‘very poor’ category for tomorrow (Wednesday).

The air quality is forecast to deteriorate to the middle end of the very poor category on December 5 (Thursday). Further deterioration to the higher end of the very poor category is forecast for December 6 (Friday),” the SAFAR forecast said.