Delhi Weather: Cold Wave Intensifies, IMD Issues Yellow Alert For Dense Fog; AQI To Worsen In Coming Days

Moderate to dense fog is expected to persist over the capital in the coming days, according to the weather office forecast, issuing a yellow alert for dense fog on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Delhi recorded 'poor' air quality on Saturday, with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 267, with conditions expected to worsen in the upcoming days.

Delhi logged a maximum temperature of 17.3 degrees Celsius, 2 degrees below normal, while the minimum temperature settled at 8.1 degrees Celsius, 1.2 degrees above the seasonal average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

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Station-wise data on maximum temperatures showed that Palam recorded 15.8 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 17.6 degrees Celsius, the Ridge 16.3 degrees Celsius, and Ayanagar 17.2 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, Safdarjung logged a minimum temperature of 8.1 degrees Celsius, Palam 7.9 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 8 degrees Celsius, the Ridge 9 degrees Celsius, while Ayanagar was the coolest at 6.9 degrees Celsius.

The weather office said cold wave conditions are likely to affect isolated places in the city between January 4 and January 7. A cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature drops 4.5 to 6.5 degrees below the seasonal average.

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Visibility remained low during the morning hours, with Safdarjung recording the lowest visibility of 800 metres around 9 am, which later improved to 1,200 metres, the IMD said. The mean AQI stood at 267, in the 'poor' category, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.

Among the monitoring stations in the capital, 14 logged readings in the 'poor' category, 17 in the 'very poor' range while six recorded a 'moderate' AQI.

Jahangirpuri logged the worst AQI reading at 340, CPCB's Sameer app showed. According to the CPCB, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.

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According to the Air Quality Early Warning System, the AQI is likely to remain in the 'very poor' category from Sunday to January 6, with a similar forecast for the subsequent six days.

As per the Decision Support System (DSS), vehicular emissions contributed 10.7 per cent of Delhi's pollution, followed by peripheral industries at 10.5 per cent, construction activities at 1.6 per cent, and other sectors at 0.8 per cent.

Among NCR districts, Jhajjar emerged as the largest contributor to the capital's pollutant load at 16.7 per cent, followed by Rohtak and Sonipat at 4.7 per cent each, and Bhiwani at 1.9 per cent. During the morning hours, the average AQI stood in the 'poor' category at 240, CPCB data showed.