With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting a minimum of 5 degrees Celsius by Friday, Delhi is expected to see a major decrease in temperature this week as northern India continues to struggle with unfavorable weather conditions.The IMD issued a seven-day forecast for Delhi in the meantime, predicting that the minimum temperature will begin to drop on Wednesday. Wednesday’s high temperature of 16.2 degrees Celsius, or 2.8 degrees above average, was recorded at Delhi’s main weather station, the Safdarjung observatory. At 10.5°C, the minimum temperature was 3.6°C warmer than typical for this season. During the day, the relative humidity varied from 87% to 92%.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) stated that the AQI had been hovering in the ‘inferior’ category for the previous week, despite the fact that temperatures in Delhi and the National Capital Region are still dropping. The AQI was 335 on Monday, falling into the “very poor” range. Furthermore, the Delhi-NCR area saw a decrease in air pollution levels due to favorable weather conditions, particularly increased wind speed, therefore the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Sunday removed limits under Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
Nonetheless, Delhi-NCR is still subject to limitations imposed by GRAP Stages 1 and 2. An AQI of 0 to 50 is regarded as “good,” 51 to 100 as “satisfactory,” 101 to 200 as “moderate,” 201-300 as “poor,” 301 to 400 as “very poor,” and 401 to 500 as “severe.” In the meantime, 25 trains were delayed and visibility was severely restricted to 150 meters due to the thick and heavy fog that engulfed Delhi in the early hours of Tuesday. According to the IMD, visibility in Palam was as low as 150 meters between 5 and 5:30 am before increasing to 700 meters by 8:30 am, while the lowest visibility was recorded at 500 meters at Safdarjung.
