Chandigarh, Dec 6: A fresh spell of cold wave conditions pushed Chandigarh’s minimum temperature down to 6.1°C on Friday while the city’s air quality slipped into the poor category for the first time in nearly a month, weather officials said.
According to the daily bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board, Chandigarh’s AQI stood at 213, based on the 4 p.m. average from its three monitoring stations. Levels between 201 and 300 are categorised as poor and can cause “breathing discomfort on prolonged exposure,” the agency states.
Chandigarh’s deterioration comes amid contrasting conditions in the region. Panchkula recorded a satisfactory AQI of 97 on Friday, while pollution in Delhi worsened to 327, placing it in the very poor band.
Surender Paul, director of the IMD Chandigarh, said the drop in air quality is directly tied to sinking temperatures. “Temperature inversion is trapping pollutants close to the ground. With the slide in temperature, dispersion becomes difficult,” he said.
Paul said the past month’s cleaner air was due to persistent cold northwesterly winds that kept pollutants from accumulating. But a weak Western Disturbance has disrupted those winds. “The system will not bring rain, but it will push warmer westerlies into the region,” he said, adding that these winds may ease the cold over the weekend.
While mornings remained harsh, the maximum temperature rose to 23.9°C on Friday, up from 22.3°C the previous day, though still 1.5°C below normal. This is the second cold wave day of the season; earlier, Wednesday’s minimum had dipped to 5.4°C.
The IMD defines a cold wave in the region when the minimum temperature falls below 10°C and registers 4.5°C to 6.4°C below normal.
Over the next three days, the maximum temperature is expected to hover between 25°C and 26°C, while night temperatures are likely to remain between 8°C and 9°C, the IMD said.
