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Delhi

Delhi to shiver at 3 degree C soon; air quality to worsen

NEW DELHI: Delhiites woke up to a cold Friday morning as the minimum temperature was recorded at five degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average and the MeT department projected that the temperature will become 3-degree Celcius by Saturday morning.

The air quality remained 'very poor' on Friday, however, the predictions suggest that it would worsen too.

Delhi witnesses the wintry touch as soon as November. However, for the month of November, the winters are confined to late evenings and nights only. For the month of December, both day and night start nipping. In addition to this, January is the coldest month. But this year, winters have shown varied characteristics.

The average temperature for the month of November is 12.9°C, December is 8.3°C and for January it is the lowest with 7.6°C. For the year 2018, the average temperature for the month of November was 13.4°C and this has been the highest recorded average temperature since 2013 except, 2015.

In the year 2015, the average temperature was 14.6°C whereas for the year 2012, the average temperature was 12.2°C. So far, December has observed single digit minimums except for three days. In the past one week, the minimums have gone down to 5°C and belower. Meanwhile, the national Capital seems to have become a permanent patient with the ongoing struggles of poor air quality which is the only constant in citizens' lives. Delhi, along with Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad, is under a thick blanket of heavily polluted air which ranges between poor to severe.

While the average PM2.5 readings at 6 pm were recorded at 297.4 micrograms per cubic metre, the average PM10 readings at the same time were 456.2 micrograms per cubic metre.

The safety standard for both these ultra-fine particulates is 60 and 100 micrograms per cubic metres respectively. Under the Graded Response Action Plan, pollution is considered "severe plus" or 'emergency' when readings of ultrafine particulates PM2.5 or PM10 are above 300 and 500 ug/m3 respectively. Measures listed under the emergency category are rolled out when these conditions prevail for 48 hours at a stretch.

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