New Delhi: the national capital, experienced a chilly morning on Saturday as the minimum temperature dropped to 7.4 degrees Celsius, marking a departure of four notches below the season’s average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD further forecasts that the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 27 degrees Celsius, with a “mainly clear sky” prevailing throughout the day.
However, concerns arise as several monitoring stations across the city registered air quality falling under the ‘very poor’ category on Saturday. In the Anand Vihar area, PM 10 levels stood at 439 and PM 2.5 at 345, both classified as ‘very poor’, while NO2 recorded at 166 and CO at 112, indicating moderate levels, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The Air Quality Index (AQI) ranged from zero to 500, with AQI between 301 and 400 categorized as ‘very poor’ and above 400 as ‘severe’.
At the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport (T3), PM 2.5 levels recorded at 286, classified as ‘poor’, and PM 10 at 168, falling under the ‘moderate’ category. Similarly, in Dwarka Sector 8, PM 2.5 levels were at 326, while PM 10 stood at 309.