Rain on Sunday may spell some respite from air pollution in Delhi

With the weathermen predicting light rain on Sunday, Delhi residents may get some respite from the bad air quality in the national capital.

With the weathermen predicting light rain on Sunday, Delhi residents may get some respite from the bad air quality in the national capital.

Rain has a washout effect on air pollution, as it was seen on the days following Republic Day (Sonu Mehta/HT Photo)

“Rain has a washout effect on air pollution, as it was seen on the days following Republic Day when we got continuous rainfall. So rain also helps you understand how clean the air in Delhi can be, if we can get the pollution causing elements under control,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, the executive director of the Centre of Science and Environment.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), an air quality monitoring app instituted by the Ministry of Earth Science, Air Quality levels in Delhi are expected to improve from Saturday’s average of ‘very poor’ levels to ‘poor’ levels on Sunday.

The Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC) has predicted light rain or drizzle in parts of the national capital on Sunday. Temperatures are expected to range between 23 and 14 degrees Celsius.

“Winters usually see the worst kind of pollution, but with sources of pollution being present continuous air quality will still be bad in Delhi. At the end of winter, we will not see ‘severe’ levels of pollution as frequently, but the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ levels can be just as bad,” warned Roychowdhury.