After a dry June, the city has experienced intermittent moderate showers for the month of July so far. This pattern is likely to continue for the coming week as well, said meteorological experts. According to the website of the India Meteorological Department(IMD), there will be cloudy skies and one or two spells of light rainfall on all days of the coming week.

While Sunday saw a minimum temperature of 26 degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 32 degrees Celsius, the coming week is set to be hotter and relatively drier. There is a strong possibility of a thunderstorm along with rains on Friday and Saturday, while from Monday to Wednesday, the city will experience intermittent and scattered rainfall. According to an IMD official, “Light showers will continue throughout the week and a thunderstorm is expected on Friday. The average wind speed throughout the week is expected to stay around 25-30km/hour, which is considered to be normal during the monsoon.”

Sunday also saw a dip in the pollution levels. According to the Air Quality Index(AQI) bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board(CPCB) at 4:00 pm on Sunday, the air quality in the city was “good” at 46. Experts attribute the improvement in the pollution levels to the showers and also the settling down of the dry topsoil due to the high amount of moisture in the air. Air quality expert Guneet Singh said, “It will take time for the top layer of the soil to get dry and start dispersing off in the air. Although is a positive phenomenon, vehicular pollution is likely to increase in the monsoon months.”

According to Singh, there are a number of factors responsible for the anticipated increase in vehicular pollution in the city. He said, “The constant traffic jams due to the poor conditions of the roads will boost vehicular pollution. Add to that the movement of the Kanwariyas taking up a large chunk of the roads, and vehicular movement is bound to be slow and pollution higher.”

Further, during the monsoon season, people prefer to travel more in cars that may also lead to an increase in vehicular pollution. So while the effect on pollution levels is positive due to the showers, vehicular pollution is expected to jump up in the city in the coming days, as per experts.

First Published: Jul 28, 2019 22:04 IST