Rain, winds pull AQI to ‘moderate’ for first time in over 3 months in Delhi

Saturday’s improvement followed widespread rain and strong winds across Delhi-NCR on Friday. Noida also recorded a ‘Moderate’ AQI of 184, a sharp improvement from 270 a day earlier, while AQI in Gurgaon remained in the ‘Poor’ category at 225, nearly unchanged from 227 the previous day.

However, the respite is likely to be short-lived. According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology Pune’s Air Quality and Weather Bulletin for Delhi, air quality is likely to remain in the ‘Poor’ category on Sunday, deteriorate to ‘Very Poor’ the next day, and improve marginally to ‘Poor’ on January 27.

Over the subsequent six days, AQI is expected to fluctuate between ‘Poor’ and ‘Very Poor’ categories.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a western disturbance, seen as a cyclonic circulation over Jammu and adjoining Pakistan, persists at about 3.1 km above mean sea level, influencing weather conditions over Northwest India.

On Friday, the Capital experienced its first rain of the year, accompanied by a sharp drop in temperatures. Delhi recorded 19.8 mm of rainfall, making it the wettest January day in the last two years. At 20.44 mm, the city had last received higher rainfall than this on January 30, 2023.

The maximum temperature on Friday settled at 16 degrees Celsius, the lowest maximum temperature for the month since January 10, 2024, when the day’s high was 15.2 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, visibility also dipped briefly, with Safdarjung and Palam stations reporting visibility of 400 metres in the early hours of Saturday before improving.

IMD forecasts indicate partly cloudy skies, gusty winds, and shallow to moderate fog over the coming days, with fluctuating temperatures and another western disturbance likely to affect Northwest India from January 26, conditions that could hinder pollutant dispersion.