Delhi Records Lowest October Temperature in Two Years While Air Quality Improves to 'Poor' Category

Delhi experienced its lowest October night temperature in two years, with the mercury dropping to 17 degrees Celsius on Thursday night, while air quality showed improvement by shifting from the 'very poor' to 'poor' category after four consecutive days.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday, Delhi's nighttime temperature settled at 17 degrees Celsius, which is 0.2 degrees below the seasonal normal. This marks the lowest temperature recorded this season and the coolest October night since 2024, when the minimum temperature on October 15 was 17.4 degrees Celsius.

The daytime high reached 32.3 degrees Celsius, slightly above the normal by 0.4 degrees.

Weather forecasts for Saturday indicate morning mist with temperatures expected to range between 31 degrees Celsius during the day and 17 degrees Celsius at night.

Delhi's air quality showed signs of improvement with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) registered at 275, placing it in the 'poor' category as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Among all monitoring stations across the city, Anand Vihar recorded the highest AQI at 414. Out of 38 monitoring stations, 10 stations reported 'very poor' air quality, 24 stations fell under the 'poor' category, and three remained in the moderate range, according to data from the CPCB's Sameer app.

Neighboring NCR cities including Gurugram, Noida, and Ghaziabad reported 'poor' air quality with AQI levels in the 200s.

The Centre's Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) forecasts that Delhi's AQI is likely to remain in the 'very poor' category until Saturday, after which it may fluctuate between 'poor' and 'very poor' over the next six days.

As per CPCB classifications, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'.

According to the Decision Support System (DSS), transport emissions contributed 17.8 percent to Delhi's air pollution on Friday.

Satellite data detected 28 incidents of stubble burning in Punjab and 13 in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, further affecting the region's air quality.