New Delhi – The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a 'yellow' alert for Delhi, forecasting dense fog that is likely to reduce visibility across the national capital on Saturday morning. Despite the anticipated fog, air quality in Delhi has shown improvement, moving from 'very poor' to the 'poor' category.
The weather office has indicated that a cold wave is expected to affect isolated areas in Delhi and Haryana between January 3rd and January 6th. Residents can anticipate minimum temperatures around 7 degrees Celsius and maximum temperatures reaching approximately 18 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
On Friday, Delhi's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 236, a notable improvement from the previous day's reading of 380. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) SAMEER app showed varying levels of air quality across different monitoring stations, with 15 stations in the 'moderate' category, 20 in 'poor', and one in 'very poor'. NSIT Dwarka recorded the worst AQI, with a reading of 367 in the evening.
Visibility at Safdarjung was at 800 meters between 1:30 am and 2:00 am on Friday, improving to 1,200 meters by 2:30 am.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and Adjoining Areas has revoked the restrictions imposed under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) due to the improved air quality. However, actions under Stages I and II of the GRAP will remain in effect throughout the NCR.
According to the CPCB classification, an AQI between 201 and 300 is considered 'poor'. The Air Quality Early Warning System has forecast that Delhi's air quality is likely to remain in the 'poor' category from Saturday, with a potential deterioration to the 'very poor' category between January 4th and 5th.
