Delhi’s air quality deteriorated to the “very poor” category on Wednesday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) rising to 339, compared to 272 in the “poor” category a day earlier. This marked the first time in three days that the capital’s air quality returned to the “very poor” level. The AQI had earlier stood at 315 on January 31.
The decline in air quality coincided with a slight drop in minimum temperatures and reduced wind speeds. However, the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) early warning system has forecast an improvement in the coming days. According to the forecast, air quality is likely to remain in the “poor” category on Thursday and may improve to the “moderate” category on Friday and Saturday. Over the next six days, air quality is expected to fluctuate between the “moderate” and “poor” categories.
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Weather conditions on Wednesday remained largely clear, leading to a slight dip in the minimum temperature, which was recorded at 8.2 degrees Celsius, 0.2 degrees below normal and lower than Tuesday’s 9.4 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature stood at 22.9 degrees Celsius, marginally above normal. Humidity levels during the day ranged between 100 and 55 per cent.
The IMD has predicted light to moderate fog in Delhi on Thursday morning, with clear skies expected during the day. Surface winds are likely to blow at speeds of 10 to 20 km per hour. The maximum temperature is expected to range between 22 and 23 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature may hover between 7 and 9 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the weather department has forecast dense fog over northwest India on Friday under the influence of a western disturbance. Due to the impact of two western disturbances, scattered to widespread rain or snowfall is likely over the western Himalayan region on Thursday and Friday, as well as on February 9 and 10.
Dense to very dense fog is expected at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, the plains of northwest India, and western Madhya Pradesh during morning and night hours until Friday. However, no dense fog warning has been issued for Delhi so far, with only light fog predicted for the national capital.