The AQI in Delhi is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category on Monday and the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday and Wednesday.
With colder nights setting in, Delhi’s minimum temperature fell to 7.6 degrees Celsius early on Monday, the lowest so far this month and two degrees below the normal for this time of the year.
This is lower than the lowest minimum temperature of 9.2 degrees Celsius recorded in November last year, 11.4 degrees Celsius recorded in November 2019, and 10.5 degrees recorded in November 2018. In November 2020, the lowest minimum temperature of the month was recorded at 6.3 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature is set to remain around 7 or 8 degrees Celsius for the next six days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast indicates. The minimum temperature dropped to 7.8 degrees Celsius on November 25 and was at around 7.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
While the minimum temperature remained below normal, the maximum temperature in the city settled at 27.5 degrees on Sunday, two degrees above the normal for this time of the year.
While misty mornings are on the forecast over the next six days, the maximum temperature is likely to drop to around 25 degrees Celsius by December 4.
Meanwhile, the air quality in the national capital has remained in the ‘very poor’ category over the past two days. The AQI on Sunday was 328, with PM2.5 being the main pollutant, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s 4 pm bulletin.
The air quality is set to deteriorate further. According to a forecast issued by the Air Quality Early Warning System on Sunday, meteorological conditions are “likely to be highly unfavourable for the dispersion of pollutants”. The AQI is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category on Monday and the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday and Wednesday. Cold winds from the northwest have been affecting Delhi. On Monday and Tuesday, calm conditions in the morning hours and wind speed of 4 to 6 km during the daytime on Monday are likely to be unfavourable for the dispersion of pollutants.
With the stubble burning season coming to an end, the contribution of burning to PM2.5 levels in Delhi has remained low over the past week, settling at around 2 per cent on Sunday.
