Air quality 'severe' as dense fog engulfs parts of capital

New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) The capital on Sunday recorded a maximum temperature of 22.7 degrees Celsius, 3.1 notches above the seasonal average, with partly cloudy conditions throughout the day after dense fog enveloped most parts of the city during the early hours, according to the Met office.

Meanwhile, the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 440, in the 'severe' category, at 4 pm, after it recorded at 444 during the morning, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.

The city's AQI is expected to be in the 'very poor' range from Monday till January 21 due to lower ventilation index of 6000 units, with an average wind speed of 10 kmph -- not favourable for the dispersion of pollutants.

The Decision Support System assessment indicates that vehicular emissions contributed around 12.47 per cent to overall pollution levels, while industrial emissions from peripheral areas accounting for 7.8 per cent. Biomass contributed around 1.2 per cent, construction activities 1.5 per cent, and residential emissions 3.3 per cent.

An AQI between zero 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 minimum temperature settled at 5.3 degrees Celsius, 2.3 notches below normal, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Dense fog prevailed in most parts of the city during morning hours with the IMD issuing a yellow alert.

Safdarjung recorded a maximum temperature of 22.7 degrees Celsius, Palam 22 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 23.1 degrees Celsius, the Ridge 21.7 degrees Celsius, and Ayanagar 22.2 degrees Celsius, the IMD data showed.

A minimum temperature of 5.3 degrees Celsius was logged at Safdarjung, 8 degrees Celsius at Palam, 6.8 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road, 7.2 degrees Celsius at the Ridge, and 7 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar.

The relative humidity stood at 73 per cent at 5.30 pm after it was recorded at 100 per cent at 8.30 am.

The weather office has predicted dense fog at isolated places across the city for Monday morning with maximum and minimum temperature expected to hover around 25 and 8 degrees Celsius, respectively. PTI SHB ARB ARB