Delhi air quality improves from ‘very poor’ to ‘poor’

New Delhi, January 10

At an AQI of 273, the air quality of the national capital was recorded in the ‘poor’ category for the first time this year. Earlier, only ‘very poor’ air was recorded in Delhi. The maximum temperature recorded a decrease of 4°C – on the third coldest day this month – on Wednesday.

The maximum and minimum temperatures were 15.2°C and 7.1°C, respectively. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said there would be no respite from low temperatures in the coming days.

On Thursday, the maximum and minimum temperatures will remain at 17°C and 6°C, respectively, and will continue to be around 17-18°C and 6-8°C for the next seven days.

Wednesday saw a mainly clear sky with moderate fog conditions in the morning. As many as 16 trains were delayed in the morning. The IMD had issued a ‘yellow alert’ over the cold day conditions in the national capital.

Safdarjung, Ridge area, Ayanagar and Palam continued to record the lowest maximum temperatures in the capital – at 15.2°C, 14.5°C, 15°C and 12.7°C, respectively. The lowest minimum temperature was recorded at Lodi Road at 6.4°C.

According to Early Warning System for Delhi, air quality is likely to remain in the ‘poor’ category on January 11 and will likely be in ‘very poor’ category on January 12 and 13. The predominant surface wind was likely to be coming from the northwest direction in Delhi, with a speed of 10-20 kmph. Gurugram witnessed an AQI of 120, similarly the air of Ghaziabad and Meerut was also in the ‘moderate’ category.