Delhi residents woke up to foggy conditions and ‘poor’ AQI on Friday morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned against the impact of another fresh western disturbance, which is likely to affect northwest India from 2 February, as it said there was a presence of “subtropical westerly Jet Stream” over northeast India.
The weather office has forecast shallow to moderate fog for 30 January with “generally cloudy sky.”
IMD's latest weather bulletin: "Generally cloudy sky. Shallow fog at many places with moderate fog at isolated places during morning hours. The maximum and minimum temperatures in Delhi are likely to be in the ranges of 18°C to 20°C and 09°C to 11°C respectively. The minimum temperature will be above normal (1.6°C to 3.0°C) and the maximum temperatures will be appreciably below normal (-3.1°C to -5.0°C) over Delhi."
Data from monitoring stations across the capital city showed that maximum temperature during the day remained below normal, with Palam registering the highest departure on 29 January. Delhi's primary weather station, Safdarjung, recorded a minimum temperature of 11°C and a maximum of 18.4°C.
The weather agency forecast a 3°C to 4°C drop in minimum temperatures today and tomorrow, and a 5°C to 7°C rise thereafter.
IMD has issued a yellow alert for heavy rains on 31 January and 1 February.
Delhi wakes up to ‘poor’ AQI, fog
The average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded marked improvement on 30 January. Rainfall in the recent days has brought down the AQI levels, which stood at 231 in the 'poor' category at 6:00 am on 30 January, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said.
Out of 39 monitoring stations across the city, 13 registered ‘moderate’ AQI while 22 reported ‘poor’ air quality. Jahangirpuri, RK Puram, Nehru Nagar and Sirifort registered the worst AQI with a reading above 300 on a 500-point scale, falling in ‘very poor’ category.
Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport reported 800 metres visibility at 6:00 am. As fog shrouded the capital on Friday morning, Delhi Airport issued a passenger advisory that stated, “Low Visibility Procedures are currently in progress at Delhi Airport. All flights are functioning normally.”
