Highlights:
- Air Quality in Delhi worsens, slips to Severe category
- Overall AQI in Delhi dropped to 404 in the early hours of Wednesday
- The thick layer of smog hovered over the national capital in the early hours
As the people woke up in the national capital they witnessed a thick layer of smog hovering over themselves during the early hours of Wednesday morning while the temperature recorded dipped to 8 degree Celcius at 5:30 AM at Palam in Delhi.
However, what was more alarming was that the overall Air Quality of Delhi as recorded on the Air Quality Index (AQI) had deteriorated enough to slip to the severe category with a count of 404.
On Wednesday morning, several parts of Delhi reported severe AQI including Delhi Airport, Delhi University and the Lodhi Road area.
Here are the AQI categories:
- AQI between 0 and 50- Good
- AQI between 51 and 100- Satisfactory
- AQI between 101 and 200- Moderate
- AQI between 201 and 300- Poor
- AQI between 301 and 400- Very Poor
- AQI between 401 and 500- Severe
The average Air Quality Index (AQI) score for Delhi on Tuesday stood at 418, which is again under the severe category, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday it stood at 290, 321 and 332, respectively.
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As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded 8.0 degree Celsius temperature at Palam, Delhi at 5:30 AM am on Wednesday and said that the mercury is likely to drop by another 0.8 degree Celsius during the next 24 hours.
Safdarjung area posted 5.6 degree Celsius temperature which, according to IMD, is likely to fall by another 1.6 degree Celsius in the coming next 24 hours.
According to IMD, Delhi could see the minimum temperature dropping to 4 degrees Celsius temperature today.
Various parts of Delhi including Jhansi Road and Dayabasti, Indira Gandhi International Airport and ITO witnessed a thick layer of smog this morning.
The IMD bulletin read, “Fall in minimum temperature by one to three degree Celsius over some parts of plains of northwest India and central India during the next two days.
“No significant change in minimum temperature over some parts of West India during the next 24 hours and rise by two to three degree Celsius thereafter for the subsequent three days.
“No significant change in temperatures over remaining parts of the country during the next two to three days”.
The weather forecasting agency predicted that a cold wave will change into the severe cold wave at isolated areas over Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and West Uttar Pradesh on the 23rd and 24th of December.
over most parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gangetic West Bengal and Vidarbha.
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) December 22, 2020
However Minimum temperature has fallen by 1-2 deg C over most parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi. Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha.
The IMD said, “Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions at isolated pockets very likely over Odisha on 23rd December; over East Uttar Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Telangana on 23rd December 2020”.
The weather agency added, “Moderate to Dense fog in the morning hours at isolated pockets very likely over Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi on 23rd and dense to very dense fog in the morning hours at isolated pockets very likely over the same region during 24th-26th December 2020”.
