New Delhi: For the past two weeks, Delhi witnessed a toxic level of air pollution with the Air Quality Index (AQI) crossing the mark of 450. However, in a major relief to the Delhiites, the national capital received rainfall on Thursday night and Friday morning which not only brought the temperature down but also reduced the AQI to less than 100.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s Senior scientist Dr Naresh Kumar said, "The rains in Delhi are due to the western disturbance and because of that you are seeing rains and snowfall in Jammu Kashmir, rains in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana."
"We are also expecting moderate to heavy rains in Jammu Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Rajasthan. The temperature also has dropped by 3-4 degrees. We expect clear skies from tomorrow and cold winds will start in the plains of North Western India due to snowfall in the hilly areas", Kumar added.
Also read: Delhi: Overnight rain brings relief from air pollution caused by stubble burning
Meanwhile, the Delhi government is set to approach the Supreme Court for permission to introduce artificial rain to improve air quality in the national capital.
"A positive impact of rainfall has been noticed on the AQI level. We are going to put forward to the Supreme Court our studies on the implementation of the odd-even scheme and the need for artificial rainfall to control pollution in Delhi,” Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said in a statement.
Notably, the apex court had come down heavily on the AAP government for its failure to implement measures to combat the hazardous air. On Tuesday, the top court questioned the effectiveness of the Delhi government's odd-even scheme, aimed at curbing vehicular pollution, and referred to it as "all optics".
