Cold wave grips Delhi minimum temperature settles at 4.4 degree; Air quality slips to “very poor” category
New Delhi, Dec 22 (FN Bureau) Delhi grappled with cold wave conditions as the minimum temperature on Wednesday recorded at 4.4 degree, three notches below the normal, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The weather office has forecast a mainly clear sky and becoming partly cloudy towards afternoon or evening. “The minimum temperature on Wednesday is likely to settle at around 5 degree Celsius and the maximum could be 23 degree Celsius,” it said. The weather stations at Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge and Ayanagar recorded minimum temperatures of 7.6 degrees Celsius, 4.2 degrees Celsius, 6.7 degrees Celsius and 4.8 degrees Celsius, respectively. Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality recorded a very poor quality on Wednesday morning with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 378 as per India Meteorological department.
“The air quality over Delhi-NCT is likely to remain in the Very Poor category on December 22, 23 and 24 owing to slow/calm winds and poor ventilation conditions,” IMD said in its morning bulletin. The weather agency also predicted the air quality will improve after December 25. “ The air quality is likely to remain in Very Poor category till 25th December and improve thereafter, significant improvement may be seen from 27th December onwards when AQI reaches the Poor/Moderate category,” it said. The concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 10 stood at 233 in the very poor and 368 in the very poor category respectively, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). According to data of Central Pollution Control Board, (CPCB) the neighbouring parts of Delhi, also recorded their air quality in the “very poor to sever category” Faridabad (at 386), Gurugram (365) Ghaziabad (374), and Noida sector 62, (424). An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.