Delhi shivers under cold wave as air quality hits ‘severe’; light rain predicted

New Delhi: A layer of fog engulfed Delhi as a cold wave gripped the national capital on Tuesday morning. The residents woke up to a cloudy morning today, experiencing severe cold. The city experienced a chill morning with a minimum temperature of 7.0 degrees Celsius.

The weather office forecast a cloudy sky with light rain on Tuesday, with temperatures expected to range from a high of 18 degrees Celsius to a low of 7 degrees Celsius.

Delhi’s air quality improves

Delhi’s air quality worsened to ‘severe’ from ‘very poor’ on Tuesday, with AQI 401 recorded in Delhi. Earlier, Delhi’s AQI improved on Monday with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching the ‘very poor’ category, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe.

The capital on Monday experienced light rains which caused a drop in the temperature.

Delhi remains under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which includes stringent anti-pollution measures such as a complete ban on construction activities and restrictions on non[1]essential polluting trucks entering the city.