Delhi wakes up to light rain, cloudy skies; air quality remains 'poor

Light rain and cloudy skies bring brief relief in Delhi-NCR, but air quality stays in the 'poor' category, with AQI at 227 and several areas recording elevated pollution levels

Delhi and several parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) woke up to cloudy skies and light rainfall on Wednesday, offering brief relief from the recent spell of early warm spell.

 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for the national capital, forecasting light rain along with thunderstorms and lightning at isolated locations. According to the IMD, the city is likely to remain generally cloudy, with spells of very light to light rain through the day. Winds may pick up to 30–40 kmph during the forenoon, while another short spell of light showers is expected later in the afternoon.

 

 

Day temperatures are expected to range between 26 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius, while minimum temperatures may hover between 13 degrees Celsius and 15 degrees Celsius.

 

The rainfall comes after Delhi recorded a spell of above-normal temperatures. On Monday, the city logged 31.6 degrees Celsius, the highest maximum temperature of the year so far, around seven degrees above the seasonal average. Tuesday also remained warmer than usual, with the maximum temperature reaching 30.9 degrees Celsius, about 6.5 degrees above normal, IMD data showed.

 

The IMD also predicted light rainfall over parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. These included Sonipat, Kharkhoda, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Farukhnagar, Kosali, Mahendargarh, Sohana, and Hodal in Haryana; Bagpat, Khekra, Modinagar, and Pilakhua in Uttar Pradesh; and Bhiwari, Tizara, Khairthal, Alwar, and Rajgarh in Rajasthan.

 

Air quality remains in ‘poor’ category

 

Despite the showers, air quality showed little improvement. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 227 at 9 am, placing it in the ‘poor’ category.

 

Several monitoring stations recorded varying levels of pollution across the city:

 

Anand Vihar: 285

ITO:181

RK Puram: 221

Mundka: 303

Ashok Vihar: 260

Punjabi Bagh: 214

Vivek Vihar: 278

 

According to CPCB scale, readings between 0 and 50 are classified as ‘good’, 51–100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 as ‘moderate’, 201–300 as ‘poor’, 301–400 as ‘very poor’ and 401–500 as ‘severe’.