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New Delhi: Delhi may ring in the New Year under toxic air conditions as Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Friday said that the air quality in the city is expected to deteriorate in the coming days. Sirsa appealed to people to continue following anti-pollution measures, and warned that air quality may worsen owing to an approaching western disturbance.
The national capital has been grappling with a prolonged pollution spell for the past few weeks this winter, prompting the government to impose stringent anti-pollution curbs under Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The government lifted GRAP 4 restrictions this week, after a slight improvement in air quality. Delhi has recently seen its Air Quality Index (AQI) drop below 300, moving from the 'very poor' to the 'poor' category (201-300) due to the favourable winds.
Addressing the media, Sirsa said that forecasts suggest pollution levels in the city may rise again as weather conditions are likely to turn unfavourable in the coming days, with increased chances of dense haze and fog. "According to the weather department and past data, the impact of the western disturbance will be visible in Delhi in the next couple of days. The weather will deteriorate again and there is a strong possibility of heavy haze," he said, warning that fog could turn into smog again due to worsening weather conditions.
Delhi also braces for biting cold on New Year
Besides poor air quality, biting cold is also likely to dampen New Year celebrations in Delhi as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a drop in temperatures in the city in the first week of January due to a western disturbance.
"A western disturbance is likely to impact the Western Himalayan Region (WHR) during the first half of the week. Under the influence of this western disturbance, light to moderate scattered/fairly widespread rainfall/snowfall is likely over the Western Himalayan Region and light to moderate scattered/fairly widespread rainfall likely over plains of northwest India during the same period," the IMD said.
Mercury likely to drop in Delhi
According to the weather office, minimum temperatures are likely to be below normal 2-4 degrees Celsius in many parts of east central India. Minimum temperatures in many parts of northwest India are likely to be above normal by 1-3 degrees Celsius during the week.
The IMD, however, said that no significant cold wave conditions are likely during the week. The weather department has also predicted that dense fog conditions are likely to prevail during night-morning hours at a few pockets across north and central India on some days of the week.
