In misty Delhi, air quality drops to ‘very poor’

It was a misty morning in the national capital on Saturday, October 27, with the minimum temperature recorded at 15.6 degrees Celsius, while the air quality dipped to "very poor".

"The sky will remain clear throughout the day," said an India Meteorological Department official.

The maximum temperature was likely to hover around 31 degrees Celsius. The humidity at 8.30am was 83%.

Delhi has been already reeling under "very poor" air quality since the last three days, with an average reading of 342 of PM (particulate matter) 2.5 at 8am according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

"Stop any activity level if you experience any unusual coughing, chest discomfort, wheezing, breathing difficulty," said System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting Research (SAFAR) in its website.

With more regions now suffering a "severe or severe-plus" air-quality, the top four most polluted regions in Delhi included Jahangirpuri in north Delhi, Mundka in west Delhi, Dwarka sub-city in south Delhi and Anand Vihar in east Delhi.

"The winds are mostly calm and directions are indefinite around Delhi due to two different western disturbances. Due to this the pollutants are not dispersing," said Mahesh Palawat, director private weather forecasting agency Skymet.

According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the situation is not set to change any sooner, while it may only get worse towards Diwali.

"There were north-westerly winds for sometime towards afternoon on Friday, apart from that the fire at landfill site at Bhalswa which was only doused yesterday evening, may have their effect over Delhi's air," said Shambhavi Shukla, a researcher at CSE.

Friday's maximum temperature settled at 30.4 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 15.8 degrees Celsius, both one notch below the season's average.