December rain brings much needed relief, not much change in air quality
NEW DELHI: As predicted by the Indian Meteorological Department, Delhi and other parts of the National Capital Region received scattered rain on Monday evening.
Even though the drizzle brought immediate relief, it will not be enough to provide clean air, especially with air quality hovering near severe levels, asserted MET officials.
“In case of rain, there is the possibility of very little improvement... however, as per the IMD, the levels will stay in the “very poor” category. At present, the PM2.5 levels are already above 418 units in certain areas,” Shambhavi Shukla, a researcher at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and member of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority said.
The smog will, however, be cleared by the rain.
“Cloudy weather will prevail over Delhi-ncr for the next 24 hours, with chances of on and off rains. These rains will be instrumental in bringing down the mercury, intensifying the winter chill,” the MET office observed.
It added active Western Disturbance over Jammu and Kashmir and its induced cyclonic circulation over Rajasthan and adjoining Haryana is causing the shower.
“As the system moves away, the weather is likely to clear up by tomorrow evening. This would pave way for icy cold north-westerly winds from the snow-clad Himalayas, which would then result in a significant drop in both maxima as well as minimum temperatures across North India,” officials noted.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) was on Monday recorded at 362. Pollution levels in some areas, including Anand Vihar and Punjabi Bagh, breached the ‘severe’ category on Monday, shooting beyond 400.
At 9 am, the AQI at Anand Vihar was 454 and at Punjabi Bagh it was 413.
On Sunday, India’s official pollution forecasting system SAFAR had forecast that the Capital’s air quality will dip further.