5 Warmer nights in Delhi might also have played a favourable role

Moreover, while the average maximum or day temperature in Delhi has been lower than both the normal (1981-2010 average) and the average of the 2016-2021 period, minimum or night temperature has actually been warmer than in the past. Delhi’s minimum temperature this November was 1.21 degrees Celsius higher than the 2016-2021 average and 1.25 degrees warmer than the normal. Apart from the apparent decrease in farm fires, this is also likely to have prevented any pollutants from accumulating close to the ground. A week-wise breakup shows that the nights became colder than the 2016-21 average only after the third week, which is when air quality took a turn for the worse without any farm fires.