Delhi's AQI remains 'very poor' as temperature rises amid disturbance
What's the story
Delhi's air quality index (AQI) worsened further on Saturday, despite a slight rise in the minimum temperature. The city recorded a minimum temperature of 6.8°C, three degrees below normal. This comes after the season's lowest of 5.6°C was recorded on Friday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that the rise in minimum temperatures will continue over the next few days due to a western disturbance affecting the capital.
Weather forecast
Western disturbances to impact Delhi's weather
The IMD has predicted partially cloudy skies and wind speeds of 15-20km/h on Saturday. The minimum temperature is expected to be between 8-10°C on Sunday and Monday. Strong winds, which help disperse pollutants, are likely to improve the AQI, which stood at 334 (very poor) at 10:00am on Saturday. This is an increase from Friday's reading of 327 (very poor) at 4:00pm.
Weather update
Coldwave conditions persist in northwest India
The IMD had earlier predicted isolated coldwave conditions to continue in parts of northwest India till December 5. This is due to cold northwesterly winds blowing from snow-clad mountains to the plains. However, officials said that the criteria for a coldwave were not met on Friday. The IMD classifies a "coldwave" if the minimum temperature is below 10°C with a departure of over 4.5°C from normal temperatures.
Weather update
Back-to-back western disturbances to impact Delhi's weather
According to Ashwary Tiwari of IndiaMetSky, back-to-back western disturbances are now impacting the northern plains. "Though feeble in nature, they will lead to cloudiness, and this will raise the minimum temperature marginally," he said. Forecasts by the Centre's Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi indicate that despite strong winds over the weekend, AQI will remain in the "very poor" range till at least December 8.
Pollution standards
CPCB's AQI classification and historical temperature data
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies air quality as "good" when AQI is 50 or less, "satisfactory" between 51-100, "moderate" between 101-200, "poor" between 201-300, "very poor" between 301-400 and "severe" above 400. Historically, Delhi's minimum temperatures usually dip below 5°C in December's second half. Last year, the lowest minimum was recorded at a low of 4.5°C on December 12 and December 16.