Following incessant rainfall, Delhi wakes up to a cold, foggy morning; no improvement in air quality

Delhi and its surrounding national capital region (NCR) woke to a cold morning today, with several areas in the city having received light rainfall since yesterday. Visuals on Friday showed that the national capital is under a dense fog cover, with a temperature recording as low as nine degrees Celsius, following the rainfall. There was, however, no increase in the pollution levels in the city, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining in the 'Poor' category.

Delhi: The national capital woke up to a cold morning today, with parts of the city receiving light showers and drizzle. The city is recording a minimum temperature of 9 degree Celsius today. pic.twitter.com/AE6smHW2Nx

— ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2020

Delhi: Major pollutants PM 2.5 at 206 & PM 10 at 201, both in 'Poor category, in Lodhi Road area, according to the Air Quality Index (AQI) data. pic.twitter.com/ALeYUjwXSx

— ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2020

The cold and the fog are here to stay for a while, the met department confirmed. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the national capital is likely to witness moderate to-dense fog for the next 48 hours. Parts of Delhi-NCR, Northern Punjab and Haryana may receive patchy rains, while it has been predicted that Uttar Pradesh may receive intense rains during the next 24 hours. Very heavy rains and snow, clubbed with chances of a hailstorm, await Uttarakhand.

On Thursday, the minimum temperature recorded was 12.8 degrees Celsius, with IMD recording 4mm rainfall in Safdarjung. Palam recorded 0.8mm, Ridge 2.8mm, Aya Nagar 1.7mm and Najafgarh 1mm rain. At 6.4mm, Lodhi Road saw maximum rain.

So what is causing this sudden rainfall? According to the met department, a western disturbance as a cyclonic circulation way lying over central Pakistan and the neighbourhood, bringing scattered rain to north and parts of central India.

On Friday, the maximum temperature can climb to 17 degrees Celsius, while the minimum can drop to eight, it was said. However, air quality is expected to improve by tomorrow. Weather agency SkyMetweather predicted that air quality will improve to the higher end of the 'Poor' category by Saturday.