Delhi shines bright with Christmas cheer
Delhi came alive on Christmas as vibrant lights and festive decorations illuminated the city on Wednesday.
On Tuesday cold wave conditions in the capital persisted and Delhi’s air quality deteriorated to ‘very poor’ from the ‘poor’ category, with overall AQI at 312, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). On the weather front, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted rainfall this weekend, starting Friday.
Cold day conditions are likely to abate in Delhi on Tuesday with the city expected to record an increase in the maximum temperature by two degrees even as the air quality was in the “very poor” category again.
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Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 332 at 7 am on Tuesday. SAFAR said the air quality is likely to start improving from Tuesday as wind speeds pick up. “Maximum temperature and wind speed are likely to increase gradually for the next three days, enhancing ventilation of pollutants and leading to improvement in air quality. From January 21, the wind speed will pick up even more.”
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Delhi has experienced cold day conditions for five days as dense upper-level fog made it difficult for sunlight to penetrate to the surface. It recorded a minimum temperature of 9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning. Shallow fog persisted in the early hours. It was expected to clear out in the second half of the day.
A slight rise in temperature is expected as the upper-level fog is beginning to clear out. A western disturbance is also expected to bring rain to Delhi this week.
A day is classified as cold when the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees or more below normal while the minimum is below 10 degrees Celsius. A severe cold day is when the maximum is 6.5 degrees or more below normal.
The maximum temperatures during the last five days were hovering between 14-16 degrees with a season-low of 14.8 degrees Celsius recorded on Sunday.
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