As winter sets in, Delhi woke up once again to a thick blanket of smog on Wednesday. The national capital’s air quality continued to deteriorate and remained in the ‘very poor’ category.
The average Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital was recorded at 332, which comes under the ‘very poor’ category as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). The AQI on Tuesday was also in the ‘very poor’ category at 346.
Some parts of the capital saw a further dip in quality. In its latest forecast, the SAFAR recorded the quality of air in Dhirpur as ‘severe’ as the AQI here reached 460, ANI reported.
Meanwhile, air quality in NCR also worsened. The air quality in Noida was in the ‘severe’ category on Wednesday morning with the AQI rising to 438, according to ANI. It was 391 on Tuesday. In Gurugram, the AQI measured 339, also in the ‘very poor’ category, as per India Today.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good; 51 to 100 is satisfactory, 101 to 200 is moderate, 201 to 300 poor, 301 to 400 very poor, and 401 to 500 severe.
With the onset of winter, snowfall in many places and the lack of westerly disturbances, dry and chilly weather is forecast in several northern states and as the mercury dips, the air quality is worsening across cities as well.
News18 rounds up the latest updates:
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted snowfall in several hilly region including in mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Ladakh, Jammu-Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on Tuesday.
Private weather agency Skymet stated that the lack of western disturbances had left the plains without clouds or precipitation and chilly, dry winds blowing down the mountains have brought the mercury down in the northern plains during the mornings. As per the IMD, during the next one week, the minimum temperature in Delhi-NCR will be around 8 degree Celsius.
• While maximum temperatures dropped in Uttar Pradesh, minimum temperatures remain stable this week. The minimum temperature in Agra on Wednesday was stable at around 10 degree Celsius, as per Jagran.
The IMD has predicted that there will be no change in the minimum temperature in most parts of the country during the next five days.
However, the drop in maximum temperature has led to an increase in air pollution in parts of UP. In Lucknow, the AQI was seen crossing 211, as per Navbharat Times. The maximum temperature in the city is expected to be around 26 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature around 11 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.
• As per the met department, the weather in Punjab and Haryana will remain dry until Wednesday, and skies are predicted to be clear for a week. In Punjab, the temperature will drop gradually in the coming days. Dense fog is also unlikely until the first week of December.
There may be no significant change in temperature for the next few days in Haryana, as per the IMD. On Monday, the minimum temperature in Chandigarh was 10.5 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature was 27.5 degrees.
The air quality in several cities in Punjab is in the ‘poor’ category as per Jagran. Amritsar recorded an AQI of 107, Patiala of 176, and Ludhiana 165 among others.
• Meanwhile, due to the westerly wind in Bihar, temperatures are dropping again. Cold wave-like conditions prevail in some parts of the country including Rajasthan, as per the IMD.
The temperature of North-East and Central India will remain between 8 to 10 degree Celsius for the next five days, predicts IMD.
• In Madhya Pradesh, cold mornings hinted at an incoming cold wave on Monday. While temperatures in Bhopal increased slightly on Tuesday, temperatures are expected to start dropping rapidly towards the end of the week.
The day temperature in Bhopal on Tuesday was recorded two notches below normal at 27.4 degrees Celsius, while the night temperature in the city was recorded at 12.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, as per Navbharat Times.
According to the Met forecast, the sky will be clear in Bhopal on Wednesday and the city will have dry weather. Day and night temperatures are forecast to be 28 and 12 degrees Celsius.
In view of the winter season, schools in Indore district will operate only after 8:30 pm, as per Free Press Journal. Indore Collector Ilayaraja T issued an order to change the timings of all government, non-government, CBSE and MP Board schools last week.
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