(Image source from: PTI)
On Thursday morning, residents in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) awoke to a dense layer of dust, with visibility significantly impaired throughout the area. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) indicated that this abrupt decline in air quality was a result of a mix of strong winds and a nighttime influx of dust that elevated fine particles into the lower atmosphere. Late on Wednesday, a mass of clouds moved through the region, accompanied by gusty winds reaching 30 to 40 kilometers per hour, particularly over Palam. These powerful winds stirred up dust from the ground and suspended it in the air, slashing visibility from 4,500 meters to a mere 1,200 meters in a brief span between 10 pm and 11:30 pm.
Despite the winds calming to between 3 and 7 kilometers per hour later that night, the dust persisted, keeping visibility low at the Safdarjung and Palam airports. IMD officials noted that dust originating from northern Pakistan is being transported toward Delhi-NCR by robust westerly winds across Punjab and Haryana. This dust is gradually moving eastward, slightly enhancing visibility at Palam, which now recorded 4,000 meters. By dawn, a westerly breeze of approximately 10 kilometers per hour started to disperse the dust, leading to a marginal improvement in visibility to 1,500 meters at Palam. The IMD anticipates further enhancements in conditions as the day unfolds, though the haze has already affected daily activities and air quality.
As per the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 236 at 8 am and rose to 249 by 10 am, both categorized as ‘poor’. This marks a notable increase from Wednesday’s average AQI of 135, which fell in the ‘moderate’ category. The light winds are hindering the rapid clearing of dust, and forecasts indicate that air quality will likely remain in the ‘moderate to poor’ spectrum over the next couple of days. This situation follows a series of severe pre-monsoon storms and dust events in recent weeks, including a significant dust storm in April and another devastating storm on May 2.
The IMD has predicted strong surface winds for Thursday and into the weekend, with the expectation of rain and thunderstorms on Friday, which may finally alleviate the dust situation.
