Delhi shivers at 4°C, grapples with 'very poor' air quality

Delhi shivered at 4°C on Tuesday amid a continuing cold wave and dense fog. The national capital's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category with an overall AQI of 337, as several locations recorded pollution levels above 300.

Delhi woke up to a chilly morning on Tuesday as the temperature dropped to 4 degrees Celsius, with a cold wave and dense fog continuing to affect the national capital, while air quality remained a concern with the overall Air Quality Index recorded in the very poor category.

Air Quality Remains 'Very Poor'

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 337, falling under the 'very poor' category as of 8 am today. Several locations in the national capital continued to record AQI levels above 300. Nehru Nagar reported the pollution level at 358, Jahangirpuri at 357, Anand Vihar at 411 and RK Puram at 365. Patparganj recorded an AQI of 366, Wazirpur 375, Vivek Vihar 366, Siri Fort 342, Rohini 397, Okhla Phase 2 296, Chandni Chowk 380 and Dwarka Sector 8 384, as per CPCB data till 8 am.

As per AQI classification, a reading between 0 and 50 is 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor' and 401 to 500 'severe'.

Intense Cold Spell Continues

A day earlier, New Delhi reeled under an intense cold spell as temperatures dipped sharply across the national capital, with Ayanagar recording the lowest minimum temperature at 2.9 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Several parts of the city witnessed cold wave conditions on Sunday night, with minimum temperatures plunging close to the three-degree mark. Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 3.0 degrees Celsius, its lowest in several years. IMD data suggests that similar cold conditions are likely to persist through the day. At Safdarjung, the minimum temperature was 4.8 degrees Celsius on Sunday night and is expected to drop further to around 3 degrees Celsius tonight. The Ridge station recorded a minimum temperature of 3.7 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature there reached 18.8 degrees Celsius. (ANI)

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