India / Delhi's AQI improves to 'moderate' category as temp continues to dip

New Delhi: A thick blanket of smog engulfed Delhi on Tuesday morning amid the ongoing protests by farmers that is nearing the end of the third week. Temperatures in the national capital have dipped over the past two days and is expected to drop till 4 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality improved slightly and was recorded in the ‘moderate’ category, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) data.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 7.2 degrees Celsius at 8:30 AM today, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) stated. However, the forecast showed that mercury may drop to 4 degrees on 15th December.

A cold wave has hit the northern belt of India leaving residents of the national capital region with a chill in the spine. On Monday, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 8.4 degrees Celsius, down from 11.4 on Sunday and 14.4 on Saturday.

The AQI is better as high winds helped to clean accumulated pollutants. It is likely to marginally deteriorate from the moderate to the poor category in the next two days.

The IMD has also predicted a fall in temperature by three-five degree Celsius over most parts of northwest India during the next four days. There will be, however, no significant change in minimum temperatures over most parts of central and east India during the next two-three days and then fall by two-four degrees Celsius thereafter.

“Dense fog very likely in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, northwest Rajasthan, northwest Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sub Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura on December 14,” it said.