On Wednesday, the weather department issued a ‘Red Alert’ for the next four days in northern India including Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, due to the prevailing freezing weather and dense fog.
New Delhi: Residents of the capital city woke up to another chilly morning amid dense fog blanketing the Delhi-NCR region. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), moderately foggy conditions are expected to persist in parts of Delhi, with a minimum temperature hovering around 5 degrees Celsius. The daytime temperature is projected to settle around 20 degrees Celsius on Saturday. On Wednesday, the weather department issued a ‘Red Alert’ for the next four days in northern India due to the prevailing freezing weather and dense fog.
On Friday, the minimum temperature in the city was recorded at 4.7 degrees Celsius. Both the Indira Gandhi Airport and the Safdarjung Airport experienced low visibility of 100 meters and 300 meters, respectively, due to dense fog at 8:30 am yesterday.
Delhi Weather: IMD Forecast
As per IMD, the daytime temperature is expected to hover around 21–23 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature is expected around 6–10 degrees Celsius. The weather department also state that north India will continue to witness dense fog for the next five days, coupled with cold conditions.
Delhi Weather: AQI
The overall air quality of the national capital stood in ‘very poor’ category on Saturday according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR)-India. Here are the air quality stages: Stage I – ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II – ‘Very Poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III – ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV – ‘Severe Plus’ (AQI >450).
The CAQM Sub-Committee, responsible for the implementation of GRAP, held an emergency meeting to review the deteriorating air quality of Delhi-NCR. The committee observed an increase in the average Air Quality Index (AQI) attributed to reduced dispersion of air pollutants resulting from temperature drops, foggy conditions, and local sources.