NEW DELHI: The national capital woke up to severe air quality again on Sunday, as levels worsened over the past two days, prompting the imposition of GRAP IV restrictions across the NCR on Saturday. Cold wave conditions and dense fog were also observed in the morning hours.
The air quality index (AQI) stood at 440 in the ‘severe’ category as of 4 pm on Sunday, after recording 444 during the morning, data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed.
The city’s AQI is expected to remain in the ‘very poor’ range from Monday to January 21 due to a lower ventilation index of 6,000 units and an average wind speed of 10 kmph, not favorable for dispersing pollutants.
For Monday morning, the weather office predicted dense fog at isolated places across the capital, with maximum and minimum temperatures expected around 25°C and 8°C, respectively.
On Sunday, the capital recorded a maximum temperature of 22.7°C, 3.1 degrees above the seasonal average, with slightly cloudy conditions after dense morning fog, according to the IMD. The minimum temperature settled at 5.3°C, 2.3 degrees below normal. The Decision Support System assessment indicated that vehicular emissions contributed 12.47 per cent to overall pollution, while industrial emissions accounted for 7.8 per cent.