The Capital woke up to a chilly and wet Saturday morning, with the city receiving its first spell of rain this winter.
According to the Meteorological Department, the overnight rain brought down the maximum temperature to 16 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal. The minimum temperature on Saturday was, however, six notches above normal at 13.5 degrees Celsius. A Met Department official said that Delhi had received 3.4 mm of rainfall as of 8.30 a.m. on Saturday, with only trace amounts of rain after that.
Fog expected on Sunday
Sunday is likely to be another chilly day, with generally cloudy skies and the chance of very light rain and thunderstorms in some areas. Shallow to moderate fog can be expected on Sunday morning with maximum and minimum temperatures forecast to be 17 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees, respectively.
Air quality improves
The rain and wind on Saturday also improved air quality in the city, with levels of harmful particulate matter remaining in the ‘moderate’ and ‘poor’ categories. As per the Union Earth Science Ministry’s SAFAR index, the level of PM2.5 was 91 micrograms per cubic metre, putting it in the ‘poor’ category, while the PM10 concentration was 160 micrograms per cubic metre, placing it in the ‘moderate’ category. While these values were above the standards of 60 and 100 micrograms per cubic metre for PM2.5 and PM10 respectively, the levels of pollutants were comparatively less than last month.
