Delhi struggles to breathe easy again as AQI nears ‘severe’
NEW DELHI: The air quality in the national capital continues to be under “very poor” category with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) being recorded at 360 by the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). The maximum temperature on Saturday was recorded at 24.8 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature settled at 9.3 degree Celsius.
SAFAR has predicted the AQI to further worsen on Sunday with a prediction of 375 which is closer to the “severe” category.
At the beginning of this week, temperatures dropped below the season average. The air quality also deteriorated from the “satisfactory” category last week.
“The overall Delhi AQI is in the higher-end of the very poor category. Calm surface winds are forecasted to continue for the next three days. The SAFAR model forecast suggests AQI be in the same higher-end of very poor for Sunday. Under the calm, cold moist conditions dense fog is likely for the next 24 hours. No significant improvement in AQI from the very poor category is expecting until 9 December,” stated the SAFAR.
SAFAR has predicted a marginal improvement in air quality by 10 December, but even then the AQI is said to hover around the “very poor” category. Last week, the AQI had surprisingly been the lowest in this entire winter season at just 65. This had come after a public health emergency was declared twice in November with AQI levels crossing the emergency mark of 500.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the maximum temperature on Sunday is set to be around 25 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature is set to remain around this mark while the minimum will be around 9 degree Celsius.