New Delhi: The mercury on Thursday soared to 27.1 degrees Celsius, seven degrees above normal, making Thursday the warmest Jan day in seven years.The maximum temperature on Jan 21, 2019, had reached 28.7 degrees Celsius. The warm Thursday was due to consistent warm easterly winds and clear skies, leading to an increase in sunshine time. “Westerly winds are cold, while easterly winds are warm during this time of the year,” said an official. However, multiple spells of light rain, with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds are expected on Friday, so the mercury is expected to dip. The AQI could also recede to poor on Friday and to moderate by Saturday, if the predictions hold.Delhi’s air quality improved to the lower end of the very poor band on the AQI scale, reading 322 on Thursday. This prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management to revoke measures under GRAP Stage-III. “The AQI is improving, owing to favourable meteorological conditions. The forecast by IMD/IITM indicates that the AQI is likely to remain in the moderate to poor category in the coming days,” CAQM said. The ban on construction and demolition work, restrictions on the plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles, and hybrid mode for schools are among the measures that were lifted after the removal of GRAP-III.Met officials said that because of the western disturbance, the city could get one or two spells of light rain, accompanied by thunderstorms or lightning and gusty winds, with the speed reaching 30-40 kmph during early to forenoon hours of Friday. “Another spell of very light to light rain towards afternoon or evening is also likely on Friday. Due to the rain and cloudiness, the maximum temperature is expected to dip to between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius on Friday and further to around 16-18 degrees Celsius on Saturday,” said an official. The India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for rain.The minimum temperature on Thurs-day stood at 6.3 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal. Meanwhile, CAQM on Thursday said flyi-ng squads of the commission had conducted 330 inspections across major air pollution-related sectors from Jan 7-19. In all, 90 violations were reported.
