Delhi's overall air quality continues to remain very poor; light rain expected
The air quality was likely to improve but would remain very poor until Thursday due to weak upper-level wind flow and poor pollutant dispersion, resulting in near-surface pollution accumulation.
FollowDelhi's air quality continued in the 'very poor' category on Wednesday morning, with partly cloudy skies and the possibility of light rain or drizzle. At 7 am, the hourly Air Quality Index (AQI) was 331. At 4 pm on Tuesday, the 24-hour average AQI was 372. PM2.5 is the primary source of air pollution.
Noida also reported extremely poor air quality, with an AQI of 371. It was 354 on Tuesday. The AQI in Gurugram was 338, also in the 'very poor' category.
A thick layer of smog blanketed the nation's capital today, reducing visibility.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar) of the Union Earth Science Ministry, air quality is likely to improve due to weak wind flow from stubble-burning areas, reducing the inflow of pollutants to Delhi. On Tuesday, it said, "Stubble burning emissions account for 9 per cent of PM2.5 emissions in Delhi. Fine particles account for approximately 52 per cent of PM10. Local surface winds are calm to 8 km/h, resulting in poor pollutant dispersion."
Furthermore, the air quality was likely to improve but would remain very poor until Thursday due to weak upper-level wind flow and poor pollutant dispersion, resulting in near-surface pollution accumulation.
An AQI of zero to 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 satisfactory, 101 to 200 moderate, 201 to 300 poor, 301 to 400 very poor, and greater than 401 severe. Severe+ is defined as an AQI of 450 or higher.
The maximum temperature is forecast to be 30 degrees Celsius, with a low of 17 degrees on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the low temperature was 17.2 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal, and the high temperature was 29.1 degrees Celsius. During the last 24 hours, the humidity ranged from 54 per cent to 94 per cent.
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