Cold wave predicted, air quality slips

The temperature in the city is expected to dip by a few degrees starting Tuesday, with cold wave conditions likely to resurface in the region. On Sunday, the minimum

The temperature in the city is expected to dip by a few degrees starting Tuesday, with cold wave conditions likely to resurface in the region. On Sunday, the minimum temperature of Gurugram settled at 6 degrees Celsius, the same as it was a day prior. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 20.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

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An official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that while moderate fog was expected on Monday, the temperature would start dipping from Tuesday due to colder winds. “Starting from Tuesday, cold wave conditions will prevail for two to three days. The minimum temperature may hover around four degrees Celsius while the maximum may touch 18-19 degrees Celsius,” said the official.

As per the IMD’s weekly forecast, the maximum temperature will hover around 21 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature is expected to stay at 5 degrees Celsius on Monday.

Air quality in the city reached the very poor category of the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily air quality index (AQI) bulletin, with an index value of 359, up from the AQI of 269, which indicated poor air the previous day. Meanwhile, Delhi recorded an AQI just short of the severe category, with an index value of 396, while Faridabad, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad all recorded severe air quality with AQI values above the 400 mark. Manesar, which lies to the west of Gurugram, remained the least polluted among major NCR cities, with an AQI of 304.

As per the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, “The air quality is likely to slip into severe category before improvement starts on 28.12.2020. The air quality is likely to remain in severe to very poor category on 28.12.2020 and very poor category on 29.12.2020.”

Surface winds are likely to be coming from the northwest direction of Delhi with wind speeds between 8 and 10 kmph on Monday, with mainly clear skies and shallow to moderate fog in the morning, it stated.