Delhi’s AQI Drops To 85, Best In 3 Years, While Karnataka Sizzles At 42.8°C – What’s Causing This Extreme Weather?

Delhi on Saturday recorded an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 85, which is the lowest in the last three years for the period from January 1 to March 15.

According to the Commission for Air Quality Management, this is the first day of the year on which the AQI has managed to fall under the ambit of the ‘Satisfactory’ category, meaning that the index number remains between 50 and 100.

“Today, Delhi recorded an average AQI of 85, the lowest in the last three years for the period from 01st January to 15th March. Today’s AQI is also the first day of the current year with a ‘Satisfactory’ AQI (AQI 51-100). Delhi has witnessed a ‘Satisfactory’ AQI in the month of March, for the first time in five years since 2020,” the Commission for Air Quality Management posted on X.

As the winters recede, temperatures have started to soar. Ainapur Hobli village in the Kalaburagi district of northern Karnataka recorded the maximum temperature in the last 24 hours at 42.8 degrees Celsius.

The forecast and warnings issued by the IMD for the next five days indicate that maximum temperatures are likely to rise by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius from March 15 to 17 over north Interior Karnataka.

The IMD has issued a heat wave warning, as such conditions are likely to prevail at isolated places over districts of north Interior Karnataka on March 18 to 19. However, no large change will be witnessed in maximum temperatures over south Interior Karnataka for the next 24 hours, but temperatures will gradually rise by 2-3 degrees Celsius for the subsequent days.

According to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), many locations in several districts, including Kalaburagi, Bidar, Bagalkote, Raichur, Yadgir and Vijayapura districts and a few sites in Bagalkote and Belagavi districts, recorded maximum temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius and above yesterday.

Earlier, Delhi-NCR witnessed a change in weather as the skies turned dark. Some parts of the national capital, such as south Delhi, experienced light rain on Friday evening. IMD forecasted a partly cloudy sky with the possibility of isolated light rain over the plains of Northwest India.

(With inputs from ANI)

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