NEW DELHI: Clear, blue and bright sky was a feast for the eyes of Delhiites on Friday even as the air quality continued to stay in the “satisfactory” category for the second day in a row. Strong winds and rain in neighbouring areas kept the air quality index (AQI) at 80. On Wednesday, the air quality had turned poor with an AQI of 235.
Vibrant blue skies, which have become an uncommon event in Delhi, were on account of meteorological conditions aiding the dispersion of pollutants.”Since Wednesday night, easterly winds have been prevailing in the city. Rain received in adjoining areas, along with strong winds, has caused significant improvement in the air quality,” said an official.
Though stubble burning has started in the neighbouring states, it has currently no impact on Delhi’s air quality due to the low number of paddy residue burning events and unfavourable wind direction. Of the 177 farm fires recorded so far, 86 were in Punjab, 74 in Haryana, eight in Madhya Pradesh, six in Uttar Pradesh and three in Rajasthan, shows satellite data compiled by Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), which follows the standard protocol 2021 notified by Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM).
The air quality is likely to remain in the ‘satisfactory’ category on Saturday, but it may worsen to the ‘moderate’ range on Sunday and Monday. “Delhi’s air is likely to stay in the ‘satisfactory’ category from Monday onwards for the subsequent six days,” said Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, which is the forecasting body under the Union ministry of earth sciences.
Though there is a possibility of light rain or drizzle on Saturday, the weather may remain dry from Sunday onwards for the next five days.
Safdarjung, the city’s base station, did not witness any rain in the 24 hours till 8.30 am on Friday. However, Ridge recorded 1.2 mm rainfall, Palam 0.4 mm, Delhi University and Pitampura 1 mm each. No rain was recorded at any weather station in Delhi from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm.
The monsoon withdrawal has been delayed this year. The normal date of withdrawal of the monsoon from Delhi is Sept 25. However, India Meteorological Department is yet to comment on when the southwest monsoon is expected to leave the city.
In this monsoon season so far, Safdarjung has logged 1029.9 mm of rainfall as against the normal of 637.8 mm. The city has recorded 61% excess rain in this monsoon till now.