NEW DELHI: The national capital’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Monday as partly overcast weather and moderate to dense fog were expected with a minimum temperature of 14.6 degrees and a maximum of 26.2 degrees.
An Air Quality Index (AQI) of 307 was recorded at 9 am despite a slight improvement due to a drizzle on Sunday. The 24-hour average AQI was 314 at 4pm on Sunday and 353 on Saturday. On Monday morning, the AQI at Anand Vihar was 313 and 298 at the Delhi airport.
Delhi’s AQI during November 1 and 29 was 372, making it the third most polluted November since 2015. Dense fog was expected on Tuesday as the minimum temperature was expected to drop to 11 degrees. The predominant surface wind from the west was likely to be calm during morning and evening.
The wind speed during daytime was likely to be up to eight km per hour. India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist Kuldeep Srivastava said a fresh western disturbance impacted Delhi on Sunday and brought a drizzle to some parts. “The increase in moisture may contribute to moderate to dense fog.” Due to bad weather in Delhi, 18 flights were diverted to Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Amritsar on December 2.
