New Delhi: Strong winds swept across parts of Delhi-NCR on Tuesday morning, raising dust and affecting air quality. The visibility levels at the Palam Observatory in Delhi, which is close to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, stood at 1,100 metres at 9 am as compared to 4,000 metres at 9 am on Monday. Satellite pictures released by the meteorological office showed a thick layer of dust covering large parts of northwest India.
According to meteorologists, the dusty conditions prevailed due to a combination of intense heat in northwest India over the past five days, parched soil due to the absence of rainfall and strong winds that have persisted since midnight.
“Dust concentration has gone up multiple times. The PM10 concentration rose from 140 micrograms per cubic metre at 4 am to 775 micrograms per cubic metre at 8 am. It is mainly because of strong gusty winds prevailing over the area. Dust will settle down soon,” the news agency PTI quoted VK Soni, the head of the IMD’s Environment Monitoring and Research Centre, as saying.
Over the past few days, the national capital has witnessed maximum temperatures soaring above the 40-degree Celsius mark, intensifying the hot weather conditions.
Dust particles, especially fine particulate matter (PM2.5), can penetrate deep into the respiratory system when inhaled. They can irritate the lungs, trigger respiratory problems, and exacerbate existing conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, and allergies.
Rain likely today, but temperature to rise by Sunday
Delhiites can anticipate some much-needed relief from the heat on Tuesday with the weatherman predicting light rain or drizzle at isolated places. Delhi recorded a high of 41.3 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season’s average while the minimum temperature settled at 25.2 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year.
The meteorological department has predicted a partly cloudy sky with the possibility of very light rain or thundershowers at one or two places towards night. The weatherman has forecast a partly cloudy sky for Tuesday along with the possibility of very light rain or drizzle towards the afternoon or evening at one or two places along with gusty winds.
The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to settle around 41 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius, respectively.
For May 18, the weather office has said that the national capital could see strong surface winds during the day while for May 19, it has said that there is a possibility of very light rain or thundershowers along with gusty winds.
The maximum temperature, however, is predicted to rise to 44 degrees Celsius by Sunday.