AQI at 131, Delhi sees its cleanest air in four months

The last time Delhi saw better air was on October 7 last year, when the AQI was reported at 126 in the ‘moderate’ category.

Typically in the winter season, short spells of rain and strong surface winds help disperse pollutants trapped in the atmosphere, leading to clearer air, while smog episodes cause bad air days.

This month, dense fog days gave way to clear skies, which allowed more heat to reach the surface and help in the dispersal of pollutants. Similar to 2022 and 2016, this year too saw no cold-wave days in January. Feeble western disturbances have also meant no cold wave days in February so far.

As part of the anti-pollution measures, Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) remains invoked in the capital. So far, the air quality has fluctuated between ‘poor’ and ‘moderate’ this month. There were 15 moderate air days last year in February, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a partly cloudy sky is forecast for the next three days, following which a drizzle is expected on February 19 and 20.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, has forecast the air quality to be in the moderate to poor category during next week.

The lack of substantial western disturbances this month led to a deficit in rainfall and snowfall, leading to higher-than-usual temperatures and impacting air quality. However, the IMD said on Friday that “a fresh Western Disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region” from February 17. This is expected to lower the wind speed to 4-6 kmph.

Apart from the change in wind speed, the temperatures will also dip yet remain above normal. The IMD has forecast the maximum to hover between 27 and 29 degrees Celsius, while the minimum is forecast to remain around 11 to 14 degrees Celsius in the next six days.

On Friday, Delhi’s satellite towns reported satisfactory to moderate air. Ghaziabad reported an AQI of 82 in the ‘satisfactory’ category and Greater Noida too reported ‘satisfactory’ air with an AQI of 89. In contrast, Gurgaon saw an AQI of 192 in the ‘moderate’ category. Similarly, Noida and Faridabad reported moderate AQI at 110 and 111 respectively.