Delhi’s air quality worsened sharply over the weekend, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at ITO reaching 430 on Sunday evening and the city’s pollution levels expected to move into the poor category from Monday, according to data cited from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Early Warning System.
The rise has followed a decline in wind speed. Delhi’s average AQI stood at 187 on Sunday, in the moderate category, compared with 159 a day earlier and 90 on Friday. The increase of 28 points in 24 hours means the city’s average index has risen by nearly 100 points in three days.
The deterioration was more pronounced at individual monitoring stations. At around 6 pm on Sunday, 23 of Delhi’s 58 monitoring centres recorded AQI readings above 200, placing them in the poor category. ITO recorded the highest reading at 430, a level classified as severe.
Other locations with high readings included Vivek Vihar and RK Puram, both at 261, Sirifort at 257 and Jahangirpuri at 251. The station-level variation shows that pollution was not uniform across the capital, even as several parts of the city moved into the poor range.
The Early Warning System has forecast that Delhi’s overall air quality could enter the poor category from Monday. Air quality is expected to be particularly weak in the morning. Conditions may improve during the afternoon as the weather clears and wind speeds increase, but pollution levels could rise again in the evening if winds slow down.
The worsening pollution coincides with a gradual fall in night temperatures. At the Safdarjung observatory, the minimum temperature on Sunday was recorded at 18.6 degrees Celsius, 1.4 degrees lower than the previous day but 0.2 degrees above normal. The maximum temperature was 31.7 degrees Celsius, which was 0.9 degrees below normal.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast a maximum temperature of 31 to 33 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 18 to 20 degrees Celsius for Monday. Across the week, maximum temperatures are expected to remain between 31 and 35 degrees Celsius, with generally clear weather.
The weather forecast indicates that clear skies alone may not prevent pollution from accumulating. The expected pattern of slower winds during the morning and evening is likely to remain important for how pollutants disperse across the city. The next air-quality assessment will determine whether the citywide forecast moves closer to the severe range after the isolated spike at ITO.
