No More Rain And Slight Dip In Air Quality As Delhi Remains In Lockdown Due To Coronavirus Threat

After Delhi had a ¡®good¡¯ air day on March 28, something we have not since August last year (AQI below 50), the city's AQI went up a bit a day later to 62 according to the Central Pollution Control Board¡¯s daily bulletin.

Agencies believe there will be a slight dip in the air quality over the next 2 days, but said that the AQI will remain ¡®satisfactory¡¯. Dry and warm weather is expected to continue for some time. The IMD said that the maximum temperature is likely to rise to 32 degrees Celsius by April 1.

¡°Windy conditions, however, will prevail over the next few days with a speed of 20-30 km/hr, which can help keep air quality under control,¡± said a MeT official as per a TOI report.

¡°Rainfall under the influence of western disturbances has contributed to AQI betterment along with the reduced emissions,¡± said SAFAR.

On Saturday, Delhi¡¯s AQI had fallen to 45 (readings below 50 are classified as ¡®good¡¯ on CPCB¡¯s index), with a similar reading only last seen in August 2019, when Delhi recorded two straight ¡®good¡¯ air days ¡ª the only one that year. In 2018, no ¡®good¡¯ air days were recorded, while in 2017, only two ¡®good¡¯ air days were recorded.

System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), a body under the Union ministry of earth sciences too classified air quality to be in the ¡®good¡¯ category according to its index, stating rain and low emissions had helped bring such a situation.

The capital¡¯s maximum temperature on Sunday was recorded at 30.6 degrees Celsius ¡ª one degree below the normal for this time of the season. Forecasts show Delhi is likely to record strong surface winds ranging from 15-25 km/hr on Monday with a maximum and minimum of 31 and 17 degrees Celsius, respectively.

All this is happening as the city is under lockdown due to the coronavirus threat. India is in lockdown till April 14. Over 1000 are infected in the country and the death toll is nearing 30.