Delhi Weather: Warm Conditions To Persist In Capital, AQI To Remain In 'Poor' Range Till Tuesday

New Delhi: A day after experiencing warm and sunny weather, Delhiites can expect smog and shallow fog on Monday, with a partly cloudy sky during the day and smog or mist likely at night.

Delhi experienced a warm and sunny Sunday, with a drop in wind speed pushing the city's air quality back into the 'poor' category. The maximum temperature reached 27.4 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal and the highest recorded so far this year, surpassing the 27 degrees Celsius recorded on January 31.

Despite the rise in daytime temperatures, the minimum temperature dropped to 7.8 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal for this time of year. A day earlier, the minimum temperature stood at 9 degrees Celsius.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), warm conditions are expected to persist until Tuesday, with the maximum temperature likely to touch 28 degrees Celsius due to low wind speeds.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality, which had remained in the 'moderate' category for the past two days, deteriorated to 'poor' on Sunday as pollutants remained trapped in stagnant air. The city's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 227 ('poor') at 4 pm, a sharp increase from 152 ('moderate') recorded at the same time on Saturday. Data from 38 out of 39 monitoring stations indicated that PM2.5 was the dominant pollutant.

Delhi AQI

The Centre’s Early Warning System for Delhi (EWS) predicts that air quality will remain in the 'poor' range until Tuesday, with a possibility of improvement to 'moderate' by Wednesday. The six-day forecast suggests AQI levels will fluctuate between 'poor' and 'moderate' in the coming days.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies AQI levels as follows: 0-50 ('good'), 51-100 ('satisfactory'), 101-200 ('moderate'), 201-300 ('poor'), 301-400 ('very poor'), and above 400 ('severe').

With winter gradually transitioning to spring, meteorologists anticipate that Delhi's temperature could approach 30 degrees Celsius by the end of February. Last year, the highest February temperature was 29.7 degrees Celsius on February 19. In previous years, February highs included 33.6 degrees Celsius in 2023 (February 21), 28.4 degrees Celsius in 2022 (February 19), and 33.2 degrees Celsius in 2021 (February 26). The all-time highest February temperature in Delhi was 34.1 degrees Celsius, recorded on February 26, 2006, according to IMD records.

(With PTI inputs)

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