Delhi, on Sunday, recorded the coldest day in November. With the temperature at 9 degrees Celsius, 4.5 notches below normal, November 16 was the coldest November day in three years in the national capital.
As per a report by PTI, this was the coldest day in the month since November 29, 2022, when Delhi registered 7.3 degrees Celsius. In 2023, the mercury levels were lowest on November 23 at 9.2 degrees, and in 2024, 9.5 degrees recorded on November 29 was the coldest day.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted shallow fog on Monday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to settle around 25 and 9 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Delhi AQI Today
On Sunday, Delhi woke up to choking smog. The air quality in Delhi remained ‘very poor’, with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 377.
According to CPCB’s Sameer app, 11 of the 39 monitoring stations reported AQI levels in the ‘severe’ category, with readings above 400.
As per CPCB, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good,’ 51-100 ‘satisfactory,’ 101-200 ‘moderate,’ 201-300 ‘poor,’ 301-400 ‘very poor,’ and 401-500 ‘severe.’ Tiny airborne particles such as PM2.5 and PM10 remained the dominant pollutants.
Amid the worsening air quality in the national capital, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) III was implemented across Delhi by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). The measures aim to control emissions through stricter restrictions on construction, vehicular movement and industrial operations.
Under GRAP-III, restrictions include a ban on most non-essential construction activities, BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers are restricted, suspension of classes for students up to Class 5 with a shift to hybrid or online learning, curbs on industrial operations dependent on non-clean fuel, and a ban on non-emergency diesel generator sets.
