Delhi’s air quality improves further; mercury dips to season’s lowest

Strong surface winds and clear skies have over the last few days helped improve the air quality in the national Capital, with winds touching up to 20 km per hour in the past 24 hours

Delhi’s air quality remained in the “moderate” category for a second straight day on Thursday, improving marginally even as there was a sharp dip in minimum temperature. Delhi’s average AQI was 161 at 9am compared to 178 (moderate) at 4 pm on Wednesday. Strong surface winds and clear skies helped improve the air quality, with winds touching up to 20 km per hour in the past 24 hours.

Delhi recorded the lowest AQI in December in four years. (HT PHOTO)

The minimum temperature of 8.5°C was a degree below normal and 3.5°C lower than the 12°C recorded on Wednesday. This is the lowest minimum temperature recorded so far this winter season. The lowest minimum temperature earlier was 9.5°C on November 29.

The last time Delhi’s AQI was lower than that on Thursday was on October 12 (155). The AQI on Thursday was also the lowest in December in four years. The AQI was 160 on December 14, 2020. The Early Warning System for Delhi (EWS) said strong winds should keep AQI in the “moderate” zone before it deteriorates marginally to over 200 on Friday.

The CPCB classifies AQI between 0 and 50 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”.

“Like the past few days, AQI has improved due to consistent winds and lack of moisture in the air. Thus, we are seeing little fog and ample sunshine during the day,” said private forecaster Skymet Meteorology vice president Mahesh Palawat. He said wind speeds touched 20 km per hour during the day on Wednesday.

Before Wednesday, Delhi recorded three consecutive poor air days as the AQI gradually improved. The AQI was 285 on Sunday, 280 on Monday and 268 on Tuesday.

At 9am on Thursday, only six of the 39 ambient air quality stations online recorded “poor” pollution levels. The rest were all in the moderate range. The highest AQI was recorded at Shadipur (251). The lowest 111 was recorded at west Delhi’s Pusa.

Delhi has not reported any fog since Tuesday, mainly leading to clear skies and improved visibility. Clear skies make days warmer, but nights cooler. IMD’s forecasts show the minimum temperatures should hover around 8°C until Saturday. The maximum temperature, which was at 28°C on Wednesday, should hover around 27°C.