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Delhi: After wind speed rose up in the region from Monday onwards, Delhi’s air quality improved even further on Tuesday morning, slipping into the bottom half of the very poor’ category.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily bulletin, the capital’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was 333 (very poor) at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, down from 389 (very poor) on Monday. The AQI is expected to improve further during the day as wind speeds reach 20 km/hr, before calm wind conditions return to Delhi from Wednesday onwards, according to forecasts.
“Local surface winds are likely to remain relatively high today which will increase the dispersion of pollutants, leading to an improvement, but AQI remains in the ‘very poor category. However, on December 1, wind speed and temperature are likely to decrease, reducing ventilation and leading to a slight deterioration of air quality,” said the System of Air Quality And Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), a government forecasting body
On Tuesday morning, Delhi awoke to a little fog, with the minimum temperature forecast to be around 9 degrees Celsius, a slight drop from Monday’s minimum of 10.3 degrees Celsius.
“Wind speed ranged from 10-15 km/hr during the day, but calm wind conditions were back after 5 pm. Delhi’s overall visibility ranged from 300 metres in the morning to 2,500 metres during the day, owing to smog and similar conditions,” said R.K Jenamani, a scientist at IMD.
Due to a western disturbance, Delhi is predicted to get very light rain on Thursday, with a minimum temperature of 12 degrees Celsius.
“There is a possibility of very light rain occurring in parts of Delhi on Thursday. This western disturbance will raise the minimum temperature,” Jenaman said.
The Delhi Early Warning System (EWS) said on Monday that due to unfavourable calm or slow wind conditions at night, air quality was unlikely to improve beyond the very poor’ level during the next five days.
“Winds are likely to be relatively strong during Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, air quality is likely to deteriorate again due to calm winds, but it will remain in the ‘very poor category,” it said.