NEW DELHI: Delhi saw its best air quality in five months on Thursday as strong winds led to a sharp decline in pollution levels.
The city’s air quality showed improvement for the sixth consecutive day, clocking an air quality index of 119, the Capital’s best since it recorded a “satisfactory” AQI of 76 on September 29, 2024, according to a Central Pollution Control Board’s bulletin.
In 2024 (until December 27), Delhi had witnessed 155 days of ‘poor’, ‘very poor’, or ‘severe’ air quality, with an AQI of 200 or more. For the first time in six years, the city did not witness even one day of ‘good’ air quality, with AQI less than 50, in 2024.
“Improvement in AQI was aided by strong surface winds, which start receding from Thursday, leading to an increase in minimum and maximum temperatures,” the IMD said in a bulletin.
The national capital has been experiencing an unexpected chill for the past three days with the temperature dipping due to strong winds.
The minimum at the Safdarjung weather station was recorded at 11.8 degrees Celsius, marking a dip of 3.8°C from a day earlier and 1.6°C below normal. Both the Lodhi Road and Ayanagar stations recorded a minimum of 9.6°C.
The AQI was 148 (“moderate”) on Tuesday, 156 on Monday, 125 on Sunday, 126 on Saturday and 121 on Friday. Delhi’s satellite cities also clocked improved air quality: Noida recorded an AQI of 98 (satisfactory), Greater Noida 149 (‘moderate’), and Gurugram 145 (‘moderate’) on Wednesday.
“Strong surface winds, with a speed up to 40 kmph, helped in dispersal of pollutants and kept AQI low. The air quality will deteriorate in the coming days as wind speed is expected to go down,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president of Skymet.