Delhi witnesses foggy morning, AQI improves to 'moderate' category

People in Delhi woke up witnessing a foggy morning on Saturday thereby leading to a dip in visibility.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday predicted cold to severe cold day conditions for some parts of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and West Uttar Pradesh during the next 24 hours.

"Dense to Very Dense Fog Conditions likely in isolated/some parts in night/morning hours over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, north Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh during next 3 days," the weather bulletin added.

The minimum temperature in the national capital dropped down to six degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature is expected to touch 19 degrees Celsius.

The air quality improved significantly on Saturday morning and moved to the moderate category with the air quality index (AQI) touching 132, according to the latest estimates updated by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

"AQI today indicates 'moderate' air quality, improved significantly from yesterday's 'very poor' air quality due to rain and gusty wind that washed out particulate matter in air. A few spells of light rain are likely today improving AQI further but to remain within 'moderate'. From tomorrow onwards relatively calm surface winds are likely and air quality gradually degrades back to 'poor' and then to 'very poor' as rate of accumulation of pollutants is likely to be more than that of ventilation," read the bulletin by SAFAR today.

This development in air quality indices comes after several parts of the national capital received light rainfall early on Friday morning. Yesterday, the air quality in the national capital was in the 'very poor' category with an overall AQI was recorded at 313, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).