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Delhi Records Its Cleanest February Since 2008, Strong Winds and Rains Bring Down Pollutants in the Atmosphere
Nation's capital, Delhi logs cleanest February in 9 years, coldest since 2008. The strong winds and rains lately has helped in bringing fresh and clean air.
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board, the Capital had its cleanest February in nine years, because of strong surface winds sweeping through the city and intermittent rainfall.
IMD reports northwesterly winds help the temperature from rising
Throughout the month, the Capital experienced a constant flow of northwesterly winds, preventing the average monthly minimum temperature from rising. It remained at 9.2 degrees Celsius (°C), marking the lowest temperature for Delhi since February 2008, when it reached 8.4°C. This information comes from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Since the inception of the AQI in April 2015, the air quality index for February has consistently averaged at 220 (bad), as per the data recorded until February 28. Additionally, the average minimum temperature for the month was 1.4 degrees Celsius below the long-term average (LPA).
Meanwhile, the average monthly maximum temperature was 24°C, 0.2°C below the LPA and Delhi's lowest for the month since 2019 (22.5°C). Weather officials reported four western disturbances this month, with the majority of the rainfall (26.5mm) falling on the opening day of the month. So far in February, 32.5mm has been recorded, the most since February 2014 when 48.8mm was reported.
Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD said, "We had four western disturbances, but only the first was active, affecting Delhi on January 31 and February 1. The second occurred between February 4 and 5, the third around February 20, and the most recent on February 27. The last three were rather weak and merely brought a drizzle, but the wind speed remained high, particularly during the day."
Strong surface winds and rain both help to settle or disperse contaminants in the atmosphere, resulting in cleaner air. According to CPCB data, the average AQI for Delhi in February has been 237 in 2023, 225 in 2022, 288 in 2021, 241 in 2020, 242 in 2019, 243 in 2018, 267 in 2017, and 293 in 2016. AQI values ranging from 201 to 300 are considered bad. The range of 301-400 is considered very poor, while 401-500 is deemed severe. The AQI value of 500 or more is classified as a severe plus.
Srivastava further stated that the period between February 7 and 18 was characterized by mostly clear skies, which caused daytime temperatures to be high and nights to be frigid. During these spells, Delhi's minimum temperature dipped to 5.2°C on February 10, five degrees below normal and the lowest February minimum since February 10, 2014 (4.6°C). Delhi again had another period of cold nights between February 22 and 26, with the minimum temperature dropping to 7.6°C on February 24.
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