New Delhi: Widespread rain in northwest India, accompanied by strong winds, on Sunday night cleaned Delhi’s air. The city recorded the fourth ‘moderate’ day in Dec as the Air Quality Index (AQI) improved to 186 on Monday. This month has recorded the highest number of ‘moderate’ days in Dec ever.
Data from the Central Pollution Control Board, which started calculating AQI in April 2015, shows that Dec in 2015, 2019 and 2022 recorded three ‘moderate’ days each. However, Dec 2024 witnessed three consecutive ‘moderate’ days from Dec 4 to 6 and a fourth such day on Monday due to the favourable meteorological conditions.
Delhi’s overall AQI was 302 in the ‘very poor’ category on Sunday at 4 pm. However, it dipped to 221 at 8 am on Monday and entered the ‘moderate’ category at 11 am at 198. “However, as widespread rainfall was recorded in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi on Sunday, it helped in cleaning the air quality. Calm winds of up to 3-4 kmph were recorded on Sunday, but the wind speed rose to 10-12 kmph on Monday, aiding in the dispersion of pollutants,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-chairman, Skymet Meteorology.
Similarly, the three-day streak of ‘moderate’ days from Dec 4 to 6 was due to no fog and consistent strong winds, leading to the dispersion of pollutants. The lowest AQI in Dec so far was recorded on Dec 5 at 165.
On Monday, Shadipur was the most polluted station with AQI remaining in the ‘very poor’ category at 320. In contrast, Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range witnessed the lowest AQI of 60 and was the lone station in the capital to remain in the ‘satisfactory’ category.
However, AQI is again predicted to turn ‘poor’ on Tuesday. The air quality is likely to stay ‘poor’ from Dec 10 to 12, according to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, which is the forecasting body under the Union ministry of earth sciences.
An AQI reading of 50 or below is classified as ‘good’, while readings between 51 and 100 fall in the ‘satisfactory’ category, and those between 101 and 200 are classified as ‘moderate’. ‘Poor’ air ranges from 201 to 300, ‘very poor’ from 301 to 400 and ‘severe’ from 401 to 500.
Meanwhile, the maximum temperature dipped to 21.6 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, on Monday. It was 2.1 degrees less than Sunday’s maximum. The minimum temperature was 8.2 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal. The minimum temperature is predicted to touch 6 degrees Celsius by Wednesday.
