After light rain, IMD predicts dip in temperature in Delhi
A slight increase in wind speeds on Sunday also helped improve the air quality index but it remained in the “very poor” category
The city got colder on Sunday as the minimum temperature dipped to 10 degrees Celsius (°C) and recorded drizzling in some parts, leading to weather officials to predict a further fall in mercury and dense fog in the coming days.
A slight increase in wind speeds on Sunday also helped improve the air quality index but it remained in the “very poor” category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board. the 24-hour average AQI stood at 314 at 4pm on Sunday against 353 recorded a day ago. The AQI is likely to remain “very poor” for the next three days, according to the Early Warning System.
“Wind speed increased slightly on Sunday, touching 6-8 km/hr in parts, while it was around 4-5 km/hr on Saturday. There will be no significant increase or decrease in the wind speed though in the coming days,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at the India Meteorological Department, adding that the drizzle was on account of a western disturbance and a cyclonic circulation over Haryana. On Sunday morning, the Capital recorded shallow fog, he said.
However, IMD said that the minimum temperature is expected to dip to 9°C by Monday and 8°C by Tuesday. Moderate to dense fog is also likely over the next two days, it added.
“A fresh western disturbance impacted Delhi on Sunday, bringing a drizzle in some parts. The increase in moisture may contribute to moderate to dense fog over the next 48 hours now,” Srivastava said.
While Sunday’s minimum was a degree below normal and lower than Saturday’s 12.3°C, the maximum temperature rose and was a degree above normal at 26.2°C. It was 24.7°C on Saturday. IMD forecast that the maximum would hover around 24°C over the next three days.
The increased chill could also lead to an increase in instances of municipal solid waste or firewood being burnt by people in the open to stay warm. The contribution of open burning to Delhi’s PM 2.5 was around 10% on Sunday, according to data from the Delhi government’s Real-Time Advanced Air Source Management Network (R-AASMAN). On Saturday, the contribution was 6%. Last month, this varied varied between 1-2%.
Burning of waste is banned in the Capital. Official data from MCD states that enforcement teams have imposed 472 challans for open burning over the last month.