Delhi's winter chills got a little bit better for the second day in a row on Friday morning when the minimum temperature was recorded at 7.1 degrees Celsius. This is still one degree below the season average, though, as visibility remained poor in several areas of the city since Thursday night due to a thick layer of fog. The fog is expected to lift as the day goes on, according to forecasts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and the high temperature is expected to remain just below 20°C. On Thursday, the highest temperature was 18.6°C, and the lowest was 6.6°C.
Around 10 p.m. on Thursday, visibility in Palam plummeted to 400 m, and by 11.30 p.m., it further decreased to 25 m; at the same time, visibility at Safdarjung reduced to 200 m. IMD experts predict that the minimum temperature will likely remain between 7 and 8°C and the maximum temperature will likely be just below 20°C till the end of this week. Over the weekend, a thick layer of surface level fog is probably going to make visibility difficult in the morning hours.
The Central Pollution Control Board reports that as of 9.05 am, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) was 347 (extremely poor), down from the 24-hour average of 318 on Thursday. Noting an improvement in Delhi's air quality over the previous 24 hours, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR) eased Stage 3, or "severe," category, limits under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Thursday.
This essentially removes limitations on the operation of four-wheelers with BS-III gasoline and BS-IV diesel throughout Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar, in accordance with directives from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). Additionally, it stated that the prohibition on private building in the NCR has been repealed immediately.
