Delhi's Air Quality Improves After Overnight Rain, More Showers Expected

Several areas in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, and the vicinity of the National Capital Region (NCR) experienced light rainfall during the night between Thursday and Friday, offering a much-needed relief from the hazardous air quality.

Images from Kartavya Path, ITO, and the Delhi-Noida border displayed light to moderately intense rain showers, leading to an abrupt change in the weather.

Delhi's Connaught Place saw an improvement in the Air Quality Index (AQI), recording a value of 85, falling within the 'good' category.

These sudden showers coincided with the Delhi government's plan for artificial rain through cloud seeding scheduled for November 20-21, aimed at mitigating the severe air pollution in the city.

The Delhi government has also deployed ministers to oversee the implementation of anti-pollution measures.

Later in the day, Delhi-NCR and the surrounding regions are expected to witness more showers. The Regional Meteorological Department (RMC), Delhi, stated, "The sky will be partly cloudy with mist and shallow fog in the morning. There is a possibility of very light rain/drizzle at a few places." The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to range around 30 and 17 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported, "Light intensity intermittent rain/drizzle is expected to occur in many places in Delhi (including President House, Rajeev chauk, ITO, India Gate, Akshardham, Safdarjung, Lodi Road, Nehru Stadium, Vasant Vihar, R K Puram, Defence Colony, Lajpat Nagar, Vasant Kunj, Hauzkhas, Malviyanagar, Kalkaji, Mahrauli, Tughlakabad, Chhattarpur, IGNOU), NCR (Chhapraula, Noida, Dadri, Greater Noida, Faridabad), Safidon, Jind, Panipat, Hansi, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Farukhnagar, Kosali, Mahendargarh, Narnaul, Hodal (Haryana), Meerut, Modinagar, Kithor, Garhmukteshwar, Pilakhua, Hapur, Gulaoti, Siyana, Sikandrabad, Bulandshahar, Jahangirabad, Anupshahar, Bahajoi, Pahasu, Debai, Narora, Gabhana, Atrauli, Aligarh, Nandgaon (UP), Deeg (Rajasthan) during the next 2 hours."

A blanket of white cloud cover currently extends across northwest India, encompassing the Himalayan region, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, and some portions of Uttar Pradesh. This cloud cover is a consequence of an active western disturbance, which is expected to bring rain to the plains until this evening.