Pollution levels dip slightly

New Delhi: The national Capital basked in the sunshine on Friday, with the minimum temperature rising to normal levels and pollution levels dipping marginally.

The city recorded a low of 7.6 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year, and a high of 23.5 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal.

The minimum temperature is expected to rise further over the next two-three days, weather experts said.

Pollution levels in the city also dipped marginally "severe" (AQI 352) on Friday and the experts said rains due to a fresh western disturbance may improve the air quality in the region.

"Another western disturbance is expected to trigger rains in the city anytime between January 6 and 8," Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather, a private forecaster, said.

He added that the air quality would fluctuate between the "very poor" and "severe" categories until widespread rains washed away the pollutants.

Earlier in the day, East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir run foundation is now all set to open a giant air purifier in South Delhi's Lajpat Nagar on Friday. It will be a 20-foot-long prototype air purifier, which Gambhir's office claims will be a "first-of-its-kind."

The tower was inaugurated on Friday in Lajpat Nagar's Central Market. The purifier will aim at treating 2,50,000-6,00,000 cubic meters of air per day and release fresh air in return.

To this the cricketer-turned-politician said, "This air purifier is a prototype. We will analyse its performance and then install several purifiers across the constituency. Every step in the direction of making Delhi pollution-free saves lives."