Gusting winds in offing in Delhi, says IMD; AQI improves

The city on Sunday witnessed a slight rise in the temperature along with partly cloudy skies. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast similar weather conditions for Monday and Tuesday.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 39.8 degrees Celsius (°C) — three degrees above normal and marginal rise from Saturday’s 39.5°C. The minimum temperature, on Sunday, was recorded at 26°C — 4.4°C above normal and up from 25.8°C a day before.

“Partly cloudy skies may be observed on Monday evening but surface wind speeds at 10-20kmph are expected to be occasional. Similar conditions may continue on Tuesday but by Wednesday, Delhi is expected to observe mostly clear skies,” a Met department official added.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, said, “Weather conditions on Sunday were similar to a day before. Temperature is expected to start rising gradually within the next two days, as westerly starts impacting the Capital and neighbouring areas. Wind speed is also forecast to die down within the next two days.”

IMD has forecast the maximum temperature to be around 39-41°C on Monday and Tuesday and then go up to 40-42°C by Wednesday. The minimum is forecast to be around 24-26°C on Monday.

Further, Safdarjung’s humidity levels oscillated between 35% and 71% on Sunday, when the wet-bulb temperature was 27.1°C, assuming humidity level of 35% and a peak temperature of 39.8°C. The wet-bulb temperature means the temperature a thermometer with a wet cloth on its bulb would read when exposed to the air. This helps determine how much water vapour the air can hold and how well humans can cool themselves when sweating. Once this measure crosses 32°C, people are at extreme risk of adverse health effects, according to experts.

Meanwhile, the Capital’s air quality remained in the “moderate” category as sustained surface winds continued to influence the city. Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) on Sunday was recorded at 140 (moderate) at 4pm, according to the daily national bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The AQI was 165 (moderate) at the same time on Saturday and 219 (poor) on Friday.

According to the forecasts by Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi, the AQI is expected to continue to be moderate for the next few days.

“The air quality is likely to be in the moderate category from Monday to Wednesday. The outlook for the subsequent six days is that the air quality is likely to be in the moderate to poor category,” the AQEWS bulletin said on Sunday evening.

CPCB classifies AQI between 0 and 50 as “good,” between 51 and 100 as “satisfactory,” between 101 and 200 as “moderate,” between 201 and 300 as “poor,” between 301 and 400 as “very poor,” and over 400 as “severe.”