Coldwave grips Delhi, AQI ‘very poor’

New Delh: After recording the coldest day of this year with the minimum temperature plunging to 3.2 degrees Celsius amid an ongoing “severe” cold wave, Delhi’s maximum and minimum temperature will settle at 21 and 4 degrees, respectively, on Tuesday.

The “severe” cold wave has engulfed Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, as well as parts of Telangana and Rajasthan.

On Monday, the minimum temperature of 3.3 degrees was recorded at the Safdarjung Observatory.

According to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) weather forecast, both the maximum and minimum temperatures in the national capital will see a rise with the former fluctuating between 22-23 degrees and the latter between 7-8 degrees.

Delhi-NCR witnessed shallow fog this morning, with the relative humidity settling at 94 per cent at 8.30 a.m.

On the air quality front, Delhi’s AQI continues to be in the ‘very poor’ category at 316.

The level of PM10 and PM2.5 pollutants in the air was recorded in the poor (240) and very poor (141) categories, respectively.

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research’s (SAFAR), said: “Air Quality Index today indicates avery poor’ air quality. It will degrade further but remain in avery poor’ category due to cold wave conditions and moderate wind speed.”IANS