Smog conditions continued to prevail in the Capital even as light rains occurred in several parts of the city on Thursday. Besides, despite a minor dip in their levels, pollutants in the air remained much higher than the prescribed standards. In fact, Met officials have predicted the smog cover to further intensify if there is no strong wind or a significant rainfall.
“Despite the occurrence of light rainfall in some parts of the city and winds blowing at 15 kilometre per hour, a stagnation in smog layer was observed on Thursday.
Smog coverage has not reduced in the last 24 hours over Delhi and now it has further spread towards North-West India,” said RK Jenamani, director met department, IGI airport. Now the situation will improve only if there is a good rainfall from the ongoing western disturbance which is likely to withdraw on November 9, he added. The visibility remained below 1000 metres with the minimum being recorded as 800 metres.
Explaining the potential of the smog layer over the Capital to turn even denser, Jenamani added, “A heavy rainfall is the need of the hour so that it can clean the moderate smog coverage prevailing in the city. In case the western disturbance is not followed by any strong winds it may intensify thereby reducing the visibility even more.”
With traces of rain occurring in some parts of the Capital, the Met department has predicted temperatures to fall by two degrees on Friday. “The particles in the air have now started mixing with the fresh moisture from the rains which already took place in the city on Thursday resulting in a dip in the temperature,” informed an official in the Met department.
Particulate matters remained high as ever with PM 10 being recorded at 557 micrograms per cubic metre against the prescribed 100 micrograms. Similarly, PM 2.5 levels were 281 against the standard 60 micrograms. Gaseous pollutants like Benzene reached 10.4 micrograms while the normal should be 5 microns. Nitrogen dioxide was also high at 127 micrograms.
Thursday’s maximum temperature was 27.1 degree Celsius which was two notches below normal while the minimum was 14 degrees. Humidity levels wavered between 91 to 54 percent. The weatherman has predicted light rains on Friday.