Delhi air inches closer to 'severe' as AQI hits 376; cold wave set to arrive in two days

Delhi AQI

Delhi’s air quality moved close to the “severe” category as temperatures kept falling on Wednesday. At around 7 am, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 376, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Several areas had already crossed into the severe range.

The worsening air quality comes at a time when the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also warned of a cold wave likely to hit the national capital from Friday. With temperature expected to drop further, experts say pollution may stay trapped closer to the ground, making breathing conditions even more difficult.

Many areas record ‘severe’ AQI levels

While the city’s overall AQI was in the “very poor” category, many parts of Delhi reported much higher pollution levels.

RK Puram recorded an AQI of 420, followed by Rohini at 417, Vivek Vihar at 415, and Bawana at 408. Wazirpur, Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar and Sonia Vihar also recorded AQI levels above 400, placing them firmly in the ‘severe’ zone.

The IGI Airport area was slightly better in comparison, but still recorded a ‘very poor’ AQI of 303.

On Tuesday evening, Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI had already climbed to 372, a steep rise from 304 on Monday and 279 on Sunday. Out of the 39 monitoring stations in the city, 16 had recorded severe air pollution levels.

Cold wave expected from Friday

Delhi is also likely to face a cold wave in the coming days. According to the IMD, minimum temperatures may fall by two to three degrees Celsius over the next three days. This drop in temperature is expected to usher in cold wave conditions from Friday.

Maximum temperatures will remain almost the same on Wednesday, but are likely to fall by around two degrees in the next two days. Both day and night temperatures are expected to remain below normal levels.

On Tuesday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 25.8 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 9.6 degrees. For Wednesday, the forecast is a maximum of around 24 degrees and a minimum of about 8 degrees, with fog in the morning.