Delhi recorded the season’s lowest low temperature on Wednesday at 3.5 degrees Celsius, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said, adding that it could drop further on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the minimum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung Observatory, which is considered the city’s official marker, fell to 3.5 degrees Celsius. This was three degrees below normal for the season. The maximum temperature was 16.4 degrees Celsius, four levels below normal for the season.
The minimum temperature at the Palam Observatory was 5.2 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature there was set at 15.2 degrees Celsius.
Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecast center, said: “On Thursday, the minimum temperature is expected to drop to around 3 degrees Celsius. From Friday, however, the temperature will start to rise, ”said Srivastava.
He said New Year’s Day is likely to bring relief, when the minimum temperature is forecast to rise to around 5 degrees Celsius and around 7 degrees Celsius on January 2-3.
“A new western disturbance is likely to hit the western Himalayan region around January 4, which may bring light rain and downpours to the plains, including Delhi. This will be an active western disturbance and along with light rains the temperature will rise, ”he said.
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Meanwhile, air quality on Wednesday deteriorated marginally as the AQI fell to 290, in the poor category, according to recordings by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). On Tuesday, the average daily AQI was 265, also in the poor area.
IMD scientists, however, warned that pollution levels are expected to rise in the coming days.
VK Soni, head of IMD’s environmental monitoring and research center, said that the air quality will deteriorate from Wednesday night and reach the very poor area.
“For the next two days, the AQI is expected to remain in the very poor area. But as of Saturday, with the impact of an active western disturbance passing over Delhi, the air quality will show a significant improvement, ”Soni said.
The Air Quality Monitoring Center of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, Weather and Air Quality Research and Forecast System (Safar), also said that “calm winds on the surface with a layer height low limit will lead to extremely low ventilation conditions on December 31 and January 1 ”. ”
“AQI can even play severe category for a short period on New Year’s Eve. A western disturbance is likely to affect the region on January 3, and improved surface wind speed, ventilation and rainfall are likely to bring relief, ”the Safar analysis reads.
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