After dry cold wave, expect rainfall from January 30: Met

New Delhi :  Expect light rain and thundershowers in the national capital after Tuesday with a slight increase in the minimum temperature which will subside cold wave conditions and make the weather pleasant in the city, the Met said on Sunday.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature on Sunday dropped to 5.2 degrees Celsius and it is likely to remain the same on Monday. However, it will be biting cold on Tuesday as the minimum is expected to drop to 4 degrees Celsius which is 5 notches below the season’s average temperature.

“There will be shallow to moderate fog on the mornings of Monday and Tuesday. Cold wave like conditions will also prevail in some parts of the city which will keep the maximum temperature at a low – around 19 degrees Celsius,” an IMD official said.

From Wednesday or January 30 to February 1, the Met has forecast light rain and thundershowers in Delhi which will slightly increase the minimum temperature to 8 or 9 degrees Celsius.

“As clouds cover the sky, the minimum temperature will slightly increase by a few notches but the maximum might hover between 19 and 20 degrees Celsius,” he said.

Such weather conditions are bound to increase the pollution levels in the city with the Air Quality Index (AQI) expected to turn ‘very poor’.

The overall air quality in Delhi on Sunday was recorded at 262 (poor).

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), air quality is likely to deteriorate towards the “lower end of very poor during the next two days as cold wave conditions are looming large”.

“These cold wave conditions will tend to slow down the wind speed which is helping in the dispersion of pollutants since the last two days. Gentle fog is now mainly confined to early morning hours. AQI may slowly deteriorate during the next two days but it might improve with rainfall,” the agency said in its daily pollution analysis.

The AQI in Gurugram at 202 and in Noida at 220 also dropped to the ‘poor’ category on Sunday, against Saturday’s ‘moderate’ yet improved air quality.

 Published on: Jan 27, 2019 at 19:04 IST

IANS