Part of New Delhi on Sunday received light rains even as the AQI plunged into the ‘very poor’ category with an AQI reading of 302.
Several areas in the capital, including West Delhi, Outer North Delhi and Gurugram received rain, with the weather department predicting more rain in isolated areas of the city.
In its latest forecast, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said light rain is very likely to occur at isolated places in Delhi, including Rajouri Garden, Patel Nagar, Buddha Jayanti Park, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Najafgarh, Delhi Cantonment and parts of the National Capital Region (NCR).
The IMD has predicted more rains in the capital with one or two spells of very light to light rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms, in the next 12 hours.
VIDEO | Visuals of rainfall from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.
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The capital’s air quality deteriorated after days of cleaner air on Sunday, plunging again into the ‘very poor’ category with an AQI reading of 302. The city’s AQI had improved to the ‘moderate’ level at the start of this month. The air quality had last been recorded in the ‘very poor’ category on November 30, with a reading of 346.
The 24-hour average AQI of the city was recorded at 302 at 4 pm on Sunday, marking a deterioration compared to Saturday’s reading of 233 (poor’ category). However, the evening drizzle is set to improve the AQI amid concerns over the deteriorating air quality index.Â
“A Western Disturbance is roughly situated along 70°E, to the north of latitude 30°N, with an induced cyclonic circulation lying over north Rajasthan and its neighbourhood. Light rainfall in Delhi-NCR is likely under the influence of these systems,” the weather department has said.
The IMD has also said Delhi is set to experience a sharp dip in temperatures, with the mercury expected to plummet to around 3°C from December 10. The significant drop in temperature marks the onset of a cold wave that will grip not only the national capital but also the entire northern belt, including Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh, until December 14.
According to the IMD, the maximum and minimum temperatures on Monday are likely to hover around 27 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius respectively.