Warm day brings relief as Delhi air turns ‘poor’

New Delhi: Delhi recorded a sharp improvement in air quality on Thursday as the city’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) improved to 241 in the ‘poor’ category from 339 in the ‘very poor’ range a day earlier, as the capital experienced a warm day with the maximum temperature touching 23.9 degrees Celsius.

Station-wise data showed that 25 locations reported ‘poor’ air quality, while two stations were in the ‘very poor’ category and 10 stations recorded ‘moderate’ air quality during the evening hours, according to the SAMEER app.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board’s classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.

The air quality early warning system has forecast that Delhi’s air quality is likely to improve further to the ‘moderate’ category on Friday and would remain there till February 8.

On the weather front, the India Meteorological Department said Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 23.9 degrees Celsius, 0.6 degrees Celsius above normal. Safdarjung, the city’s base station, recorded a minimum of 10.2 degrees Celsius, 0.8 degrees Celsius above normal. Palam reported a maximum temperature of 21.6 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 8.2 degrees Celsius, while Lodhi Road recorded 23.7 degrees Celsius as the day’s maximum and 8.4 degrees Celsius as the minimum.

The Ridge station logged a high of 24.4 degrees Celsius and a low of 10.2 degrees Celsius, while Ayanagar recorded 23.4 degrees Celsius and 9.2 degrees Celsius, respectively. For Friday, the weather department has forecast a minimum temperature of 9.0 degrees Celsius and a maximum

of 23.0 degrees Celsius, with shallow fog likely during the morning hours.