Delhi to get colder, cleaner air ahead, IMD says
The national capital will get colder and breathe cleaner air in the days to come, according to a forecast by the India Meterological Department (IMD). The much-needed breather particularly post Diwali may arrive in the coming weeks.
According to IMD scientists, quoted as saying in a HT report, the minimum temperature in the national capital may fall to 9 degrees celsius by November 22, there may be no drastic changes in the air quality. They said the wind speeds are expected to remain high throughout the week, which will help keep the air quality in the range of moderate to poor.
Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD's regional weather forecasting centre, said that widespread snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, upper reaches of Uttarakhand will lead to a fall in the minimum temperature by about 2 to 4 degrees celsius over northwest India in the coming days.
READ MORE: Delhi's air quality 'poor', no significant change likely
Meanwhile, Delhi on Thursday recorded "poor" air quality. At 9 am, the air quality index was recorded at 272. The 24-hour-average AQI was 211 on Wednesday and 171 on Tuesday.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".
According to VK Soni, the head of the IMD's environment research centre, the northwesterly winds increased the stubble burning contribution slightly on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR, said that stubble burning accounted for 8 per cent of Delhi's PM2.5 pollution on Wednesday as compared to Tuesday's 3 per cent.
According to SAFAR, Delhi-NCR's air quality is likely to remain in the "moderate" and the lower end of the "poor" category on Thursday and Friday. SAFAR said it may deteriorate to the lower end of the "very poor" category on Friday and Saturday.
