Delhi sees cleanest July air in 4 yrs: Air quality panel

Central Pollution Control Board data shows that average AQI for July this year was better than the average for 2017 (98) and 2018 (103) as well.

The better air quality this year comes with 19 days of rainfall that Delhi saw this month. While the same number of 19 rainy days was recorded in July last year, this year, the month saw more rain, recording a total of 384.6 mm at the Safdarjung weather station, which serves as a marker for the city. This is an excess of 83% over the normal of 209.7 mm for the month, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.

This is also the second-highest amount of rainfall that the city has seen in July in at least 14 years, since 2009. The highest amount seen during this period was in July 2021, when Delhi recorded 507.1 mm of rainfall.

Rainfall has also meant that the average maximum temperature in July this year was a little lower than in previous years — 34.7 degrees Celsius. The last time a lower average was in July 2016 — 34.5 degrees.

Delhi has seen above-normal monthly rainfall from March this year. Rainfall is set to continue from August 2 to 6, with light to moderate rainfall on the IMD forecast for the national capital.

The very heavy rainfall spell of 153 mm that Delhi saw on July 8-9 is the third highest 24-hour rainfall amount for the month at the Safdarjung observatory from 1958, according to the IMD. The highest was 266.2 mm in 1958, followed by 169.9 in 1982.

Four western disturbances affected North India this July, of which one interacted with monsoonal winds, as per the IMD.