E-Paper
Rain and cloudy skies improve Delhi’s AQI, but dense fog expected this weekend
New Delhi experienced light to moderate rain, improving air quality to 'moderate' as temperatures rose. Yellow alert remains for dense fog on Sunday.
New Delhi: The capital woke up to a gloomy Saturday, as light to moderate rain continued in several parts of the city due to an active western disturbance. The air quality index (AQI) improved to the ‘moderate’ category on Saturday morning.
The minimum temperature rose to 12.7°C, up from 11°C the previous day, and was 5.9°C above normal.
An India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said that the consistent rise in minimum temperatures is due to the cloudy skies that have persisted for the past few days.
“Cloud cover prevents heat from escaping at night, leading to a rise in temperature. The maximum temperature, however, drops as sunlight cannot penetrate the cloud cover during the day,” the official explained.
According to IMD data, Safdarjung recorded a total of 5.8mm of rain until 8:30 am. Other stations also recorded significant amounts of rain between 11:30 pm on Thursday and 8:30 am on Saturday. Palam recorded 1.7mm, Lodhi Road recorded 11.1mm, Ridge recorded 16.4mm, Ayanagar recorded 9.8mm, and Pusa recorded 2.5mm.
The IMD had issued an orange alert for the day, which was later removed.
A yellow alert is still in place for Sunday and Monday, warning people of dense fog.
Meanwhile, the AQI improved to the ‘moderate’ category, aided by rain and gusty winds with speeds of 30-40 km/h. The AQI was recorded at 152 (moderate) at 9 am on Saturday.
The AQI was recorded at 372 (very poor) at 9 am on Friday, compared to the 24-hour average AQI of 345 (very poor) on Thursday. However, experts said that air quality is likely to improve throughout the day, aided by the ongoing spell of rain.
Also Read: Delhi: IMD predicts rain this weekend, colder days
The 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 353 (very poor) at 4 pm on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily national bulletin. The AQI, however, started improving towards the evening and was recorded at 348 at 5 pm, 341 at 6 pm, 334 at 7 pm, and 325 at 8 pm.
This prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region and adjoining areas to revoke Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Friday evening.
According to forecasts by the Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi, the 24-hour average AQI on Friday was expected to be recorded in the ‘moderate’ category, but it is predicted to deteriorate to ‘poor’ by Sunday and to ‘very poor’ by Monday.
