Delhi temperature drops below 15 degrees, air quality in ‘poor’ category

The drastic change in weather in the northern states of India has taken the people by surprise. The late withdrawal of monsoons has led to a significant drop in the temperature over the past week, especially in the national capital.

A preview of Delhi winters was experienced by the national capital this morning as the minimum temperature dropped below 15 degrees Celsius, which is just a few notches below the expected temperature around this time.

The temperature in Delhi is expected to drop further over the course of the next few days, in view of the cold north-westerly winds from the Himalayas, as per government agencies. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded a maximum temperature of 28.5 degrees Celsius in Delhi today, which is slightly below normal.

As per the latest weather forecast by the agency, the minimum temperature of Delhi will most likely drop even further tonight, owing to the prevailing weather conditions in northern India. IMD also said that the minimum temperature will drop below 13 degrees Celsius by November 1.

As the temperature drops in Delhi, the air quality of the national capital is also deteriorating day by day. The Ministry of Earth Sciences’ forecast agency SAFAR stated today that PM10 pollutants were in the moderate category and PM2.5 was in the poor category in Delhi.

The SAFAR forecast further suggests that the air quality is further set to degrade into the ‘very poor’ category over the court of the next three days. Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) today has been ranging between 272 and 280, dropping into the ‘poor’ category, after being ‘moderate’ for a few days.

The main reason behind the deterioration of Delhi’s air quality is stubble burning and farm fires in the neighboring states. SAFAR revealed that 656 farm fires were recorded in the northwest region of Delhi a few days back, which has raised the share of smoke in the city’s pollution to 16 percent.