Mercury drops to 6.4 deg C, new season low

New Delhi: Even as the air quality in the Capital improved slightly to stabilise in the "poor" category, Delhi recorded its lowest temperature of the season till now at 6.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning, which was two notches below the season's average, the Met office said.

The chilly morning gave way to a sunny and pleasant day as the maximum temperature settled at 23.9 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average, it said. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), similar weather is expected on Monday.

The sky will be partly cloudy on Monday morning and there will be shallow fog. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle at around 24 and 8 degrees Celsius, it said. The relative humidity at 5.30 pm on Sunday was 58 per cent, they said.

On Saturday, the city recorded a low of 8.3 degrees Celsius, one notch below the average, while the maximum temperature had settled at 23.7 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average. Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) in the city at 7 pm stood at 264, which falls in the poor category. The AQI in neighbouring Faridabad (203), Ghaziabad (284), Gurugram (213) and Noida (218) was also recorded in the poor category.

And even though the Supreme Court has allowed the Commission for Air Quality Management in the NCR to take a call on lifting the ban on construction activities, sources in the Commission have said they want to wait and watch the scenario for a while before announcing any such decision.

Meanwhile, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai is expected to hold a meeting with senior officials on Monday to review the air pollution situation and the restrictions imposed to control it even as the Delhi government's anti-pollution campaigns go on, an official said on Sunday.

Officials from civic bodies, the fire department, the public works department and other departments concerned will attend the meeting, he

added.

Following directions from the Supreme Court, the city government had on December 2 announced the closure of all schools in the national capital till further orders in a bid to minimise the impact of air pollution on the health of

children.

It had earlier banned construction activities and the entry of trucks, barring CNG and e-trucks and those carrying essential commodities, till further orders.