By IANS
New Delhi : Motorists driving in the wee hours need to be extra cautious as the morning smog observed over the last few days in the capital is likely to continue till the weekend, the Met office said Monday.
“The smog and haze experienced for the last few days will continue for another five days. Motorists, especially those driving in the morning, need to be cautious,” said an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official.
“The morning visibility will be between 1,200 meters to 1,500 meters,” he told IANS.
On a clear day, morning visibility is between 2,000 to 3,000 meters.
He said the night temperature would not fall below 13 degrees Celsius in the coming days.
According to the official, smog in November is not abnormal. “For the last few years we have been observing this phenomenon. In November last year, 17 days of fog was reported with one day of rain.”
The IMD official said the light wind and pollutants, especially solid particulate matters like smoke and dust particles generated by vehicular traffic and construction activity, causes the smog to remain suspended in the lower atmosphere.
“As the wind is also light, the particulate matter suspended in the atmosphere is neither mixed nor dispersed away. This results in smog conditions prevailing over the region,” he said.
On Monday, Delhi experienced a maximum temperature of 31.3 degrees Celsius (one degree above normal) and a minimum of 14.4 degrees Celsius (normal).
“In comparison to Sunday, the night temperature increased by over one degree Monday. Till Thursday, the temperature will be around 14 degrees Celsius,” he said.
Sunday was the coldest Nov 4 in the last five years at 13.1 degrees Celsius.