Mercury dips to 2°C in national capital, AQI poor
NEW DELHI: Delhites once again woke up to dense fog and bitter cold on Thursday morning with the Safdarjung area reporting a temperature of 2 degrees Celsius at 8:30 am, informed the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The temperature in Palam was recorded at 4.9 degrees Celsius.
Air pollution in the city also registered poor numbers with the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research reporting an over-all
AQI of 346, falling in the very poor category.
Parts of Delhi reported much worse AQI, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, with Anand Vihar, Mandir Marg and RK Puram reporting AQIs of 431, 418 and 450 respectively.
Thick fog was also seen across the city resulting in very poor visibility.
Many towns and cities over northwest India started recording very poor to severe air quality on Thursday.
According to air quality early warning system for Delhi under the ministry of earth sciences, winds are likely to slow down and ventilation is likely to reduce significantly from January 14 to 18 which will lead to further deterioration in air quality. Air quality is likely to deteriorate and reach the upper end of very poor category on Thursday and to severe category on Friday.
Delhi recorded very poor air with an air quality index of 389 today while Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Greater Noida are in severe category.
Due to dry north/northwesterly winds blowing over the region, minimum temperatures are likely to remain below normal over most parts of northwest India during next 3-4 days. Cold day/severe cold day conditions are likely to continue in many pockets over Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and in some pockets of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the next three days. Cold wave/severe cold wave conditions are likely in many pockets over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh; in some pockets over east Rajasthan and in isolated pockets over West Rajasthan during the next 3-4 days.
Ground frost is also very likely in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, West Uttar Pradesh and north Rajasthan during the next two days. Dense to very dense fog conditions at isolated places are very likely over northwest India during the next 4-5 days. A cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature is less than 4 degrees C in the plains.
THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE IS LIKELY TO REMAIN BELOW NORMAL OVER MOST PARTS OF NORTHWEST INDIA DURING NEXT 3-4 DAYS