With AQI at 381, Delhi’s air quality stays in very poor category

According to IMD, it is likely to remain very poor throughout the week owing to slow wind speed and a change in the wind patterns in the coming days

Delhi’s air quality continued to remain in the very poor category on Wednesday, with the air quality index (AQI) at 7am being recorded at 381.

IMD scientists said the AQI is likely to remain in very poor category for the rest of the week too. (File photo)

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) it is likely to remain very poor throughout the week owing to slow wind speed and a change in the wind patterns in the coming days.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI on Tuesday was 367, even worse than Monday’s 318, though both are in the very poor category. On a scale of 0 to 500, an AQI value between 300 and 400 is considered very poor, and that above 400 is considered severe.

According to IMD scientists, the average wind speed on Tuesday reduced to 7-8 kmph from 10-12 kmph on Monday. “The wind speed will further reduce from December 4 or 5 and the direction is likely to change to easterly, from the present north-westerly. The change in direction is due to a western disturbance that will affect Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh from the night of December 3, which will also have an impact on Delhi. Whenever there is a change in wind pattern, winds turn calm and trap pollutants,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre.

He said easterly winds are also likely to bring in moisture, which, when combined with calm winds, allow pollutants to accumulate. There is also a forecast of shallow fog on December 4 or 5.

“Besides, the change in wind pattern will also lead to a rise in minimum temperature between December 4 and 7, when it is likely to remain around 10-12 degrees Celsius. Thereafter, north-westerly winds are likely to return, resulting in a drop in temperature,” Srivastava added.

On Tuesday, the Safdarjung Observatory -- the official marker for the city’s weather -- recorded a minimum temperature of 8.1 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal. The maximum settled at 27.2 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal.