Delhi AQI turns very poor again; scattered rain expected after February 16

NEW DELHI: After a six-day breather, Delhi's air quality slipped back to the very poor category on Wednesday. The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 305 at 4pm, up from 271 (poor) at the same time on Tuesday. The last time the city recorded very poor air was on Feb 4, when the AQI was 339.

Since then, the AQI has fluctuated between poor and moderate, with ozone levels relatively low over the past week. Weather analysts said that although winds were present on Wednesday, haziness and changing wind direction could have contributed to the dip in air quality.




"The air quality is likely to remain in the poor category from Feb 12 to 14. The outlook for the subsequent six days indicates similar conditions," the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology's (IITM) Early Warning System said.

Weather analysts added that back-to-back western disturbances may influence the region around Feb 17 or 18. "A Western Disturbance on Feb 13 will mainly affect the hills. Another disturbance on the night of Feb 16 may bring scattered rain to parts of Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh due to an induced cyclonic circulation over western Rajasthan and a trough extending from Delhi to Gujarat, along with moisture inflow from the Arabian Sea. Light, passing showers are possible, but widespread or prolonged rain is unlikely," said Mahesh Palawat of Skymet.

On Wednesday, the maximum temperature was 27.5°C, four degrees above normal, compared with 28.6°C a day earlier. The minimum was 13.2°C, three degrees above normal, rising from 9.2°C the previous day.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects the maximum and minimum temperatures to remain around 25–27°C and 11–13°C, respectively, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has mandated uniform technical and operational standards for mechanised road sweeping across the National Capital Region (NCR).

Citing the significant contribution of dust to PM10 and PM2.5 levels, the commission said inconsistent and inadequate road sweeping aggravated pollution. The new guidelines standardise the deployment of mechanised road sweeping machines (MRSMs) based on road width to ensure measurable dust reduction.

The norms apply to all road-owning and maintenance agencies in the NCR.