Delhi’s air quality remained in the lower end of the ‘very poor’ category on Thursday, even as minimum temperature plummeted further, touching a season-low of 10.1°C.
Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 313 (very poor) at 9am on Thursday, a marginal deterioration from the 4pm reading of 303 (very poor) on Wednesday.
The lowest minimum temperature prior to Thursday was 10.2°C on November 21. There has been a sharp dip in minimum temperature over the last four days, as cold northwesterly winds gathered pace. It was 14°C on November 25, 11.9°C on November 26 and 10.4°C on November 27.
Forecasts show the minimum is likely to dip further, possibly going below the 10-degree mark on Friday.
Meanwhile, forecasts by the Centre’s Early Warning System for Delhi (EWS) show AQI should remain in the ‘very poor’ range now until the end of the month, with severe air quality likely to be kept at bay.
Delhi has already recorded eight ‘severe’ days this month, including an AQI of 494 on November 18, Delhi’s joint second highest ever.
The CPCB classifies AQI between 0 and 50 as “good”, between 51 and 100 as “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 as “moderate”, between 201 and 300 as “poor”, between 301 and 400 as “very poor”, and over 400 as “severe”.
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CPCB data at 9am showed 39 stations were online in the capital, with one inoperational. None of the 39 stations were in ‘severe’ category though, with the highest AQI of 377 recorded at Mundka.
The onset of winter has been slow this year, with higher-than-usual day and night temperatures recorded all through October, making it the warmest October since 1951, according to IMD.
The average monthly maximum and minimum temperature this October was 35.1°C and 21.2°C, respectively. It was 36.2°C and 22.3°C, respectively, in 1951.
The same trend carried forward into early November, due to lack of western disturbances, making the first half equally warmer.
Long period data shows the minimum in Delhi usually dips below 10°C towards the end of the month.
The lowest minimum in November last year was 9.2°C (November 23). It was 7.3°C in 2022 (November 29), 9.2°C in 2021 (November 24) and fell to 6.3°C in 2020 (November 23).
Source Name : Hindustan Times