Delhi woke up to "severe" air quality on Tuesday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 401 around 7 am. This came a day after the city experienced light rain, which did not significantly lower the pollution levels.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI scale is as follows: 0-50 is "good," 51-100 is "satisfactory," 101-200 is "moderate," 201-300 is "poor," 301-400 is "very poor," 401-450 is "severe," and anything above 450 is “severe plus.”
At all 36 monitoring stations listed on the Centre's Sameer app, which tracks air quality, the AQI was under 450, with some stations even below 400. The highest AQI on Tuesday morning was recorded at the Bawana station (455), while the IHBAS Dilshad Garden station had the best air quality, at 222, which is still in the "poor" category.
Delhi weather today
On Tuesday, Delhi's weather remained chilly, with a minimum temperature of 8.6°C, which was slightly below the seasonal average. The maximum temperature reached 18.4°C, which was 2.3°C lower than usual. Foggy conditions were observed early in the day, with humidity levels ranging from 79 per cent to 95 per cent.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted cloudy skies and light rain for Tuesday, with temperatures expected to be between 9°C and 19°C.
The cold wave conditions in Delhi were compounded by light rain in nearby areas like Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram on Monday morning. Foggy conditions and high humidity made the weather feel even colder.
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Cold wave in Delhi and surrounding regions
Apart from Delhi, several areas in Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh experienced a sharp drop in temperatures following light rain in parts of north India on Monday. Meanwhile, a strong cold wave continued to affect Kashmir, where temperatures dipped well below freezing.
In Himachal Pradesh, Shimla and surrounding areas saw light snowfall, which led to the closure of 30 roads. The temperature dropped significantly in Haryana and Punjab as well due to rain in many areas.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the weather office advised tourists to follow traffic police guidelines because of icy conditions on roads in higher reaches of the Kashmir valley, where temperatures remained well below freezing.
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