Brace for foggy New Year eve in Delhi, says Met, air quality to stay ‘very poor’

Met department said, the temperature in Delhi will drop on Sunday to a minimum of 6º C. Dense fog is also expected on the New Year’s eve while there will be shallow fog on January 1.

Delhiites should get ready for a chilly and foggy New Year’s eve as the temperature is set to plummet to around 6 degrees Celsius, with chances of air quality remaining “very poor”.

Delhi’s minimum and maximum temperatures hovered at 6.8 degrees Celsius and 23 degrees Celsius, respectively, early on Friday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT FILE)

The city’s minimum and maximum temperatures hovered at 6.8 degrees Celsius and 23 degrees Celsius, respectively, early on Friday. The minimum was 0.2 degrees while the maximum was 2.4 below the corresponding temperature on Thursday. Overall, the city is going to experience a clear sky with mist and no chance of rainfall during daytime, the weatherman said.

However, due to low wind speed, there is little chance of the air quality improving up over the next few days.

Thursday’s average air quality index (AQI) — a measure of pollutants in the air — was 378 on a scale of 0-500 falling in the very poor category. On Friday around 8am, the average AQI was 365. Some stations like Anand Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, RK Puram, and CRRI Mathura Road have already breached the severe level.

Scientists from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said the wind speed is low resulting in accumulation of pollutants.

As per India metrological department (IMD) forecast, the wind speed was at 6km per hour on Friday morning, which is insufficient to disperse the air pollutants. CPCB scientists said Delhi needs a wind speed of 10 to 15km per hour at least for improvement in the air quality.

According to the weather forecast, temperatures in the city will drop on the New Year day, with the minimum temperature on Sunday expected to be at 6 degrees Celsius though there will be a slight change in the maximum temperature, which is predicted to be 22 degree Celsius. Dense fog is expected on the New Year’S eve while there will be shallow fog on January 1.

Fog continued to disrupt train movements in Delhi as 35 trains were delayed and five trains were rescheduled. Senior Northern Railway officials said 18 train were cancelled on Friday.