Delhi records above-average min temp for 2nd day; air quality close to ‘severe’

An India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said that the heat from the earth’s surface was not being able to escape throughout the night due to cloudy skies

Delhi recorded above-average minimum temperature for a second day in a row amid cloudy skies even as the air quality continued to hover dangerously close to the “severe” category. An air quality index (AQI) of 400 (very poor) was recorded at 9am on Tuesday, compared to a 24-hour average AQI of 406 (severe) a day before and 409 (severe) on Sunday.

The maximum temperature was expected to be around 19°C on Tuesday. (HT PHOTO)

An AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as “good”, 51 and 100 as “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 as “moderate”, 201 and 300 as “poor”, 301 and 400 as “very poor”, and over 400 as “severe”. The air quality was likely to be “very poor” until Tuesday

The maximum temperature is expected to be around 19°C on Tuesday. The minimum temperature at Safdarjung, representative of Delhi’s weather, on Monday rose to 9.9°C, 2.4°C above the normal. It was 8.6°C the day before. Other parts of the city recorded even higher minimum temperatures. Palam recorded a minimum of 10.4°C or 2.5°C above the normal.

An India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said cloudy skies have been persisting. “As a result, the heat from the earth’s surface is not being able to escape throughout the night. This leads to a rise in temperature.”

A western disturbance was likely on Friday and Saturday and cause moderate rain along with thundershowers.