18.8°C: Delhi records coldest night of season

According to data from the IMD, last year, city’s minimum temperature went below 20°C for the first time on October 12 — at 18.6°C.

As nights in the Capital have started getting colder, the minimum temperature in Delhi dropped below 20 degrees Celsius (°C) for the first time this season. It was recorded at 18.8 °C on Friday, 3.5°C below the normal, and down from 20.6°C a day before.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature of the day was recorded at 29.9 °C, 4.3 °C below the normal. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

While other weather stations have recorded a minimum of 18-19°C in the last two days, Safdarjung — Delhi’s base station — saw it below 20°C for the first time this season. However, the daytime temperature is set to rise while the nighttime temperature will remain similar in the coming days, as per forecasts.

According to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), last year, city’s minimum temperature went below 20°C for the first time on October 12 — at 18.6°C, on October 3 in 2023 (18.3°C) and on October 9 in 2022 (19.3°C).

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature of the day was recorded at 29.9 °C, 4.3 °C below the normal.

“Mainly clear skies will persist for the next few days, leading to a rise of the maximum temperature by a couple degrees. However, since clear skies will persist at night as well, the minimum will stay more or less consistent as heat dissipation will be high from the earth’s surface,” Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, said.

IMD has forecast the maximum temperature to be around 31-33°C by Sunday and 33-35°C by next Wednesday. The minimum is expected to hover around 18-20°C over the weekend and 19-21°C in the first half of next week.

Meanwhile, the air quality deteriorated on Friday and entered the “moderate” category. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was logged at 170 (moderate) at 4pm, as compared to 100 (satisfactory) a day before, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily national bulletin.

Palawat attributed the spike in pollution level to a slight dip in wind speed. “During this season, we do see some fluctuation in wind speed. As a result, the pollution level might spike and then go down again but this is normal during this season,” he added.

Meanwhile, forecasts by the Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi suggest that the air quality is expected to stay in the moderate category for the next few days.

“The air quality is very likely to be in the moderate category from Saturday to Monday. The outlook for the subsequent six days is that the air quality is likely to be in the moderate category,” the AQEWS bulletin said on Friday evening.

Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Friday also reviewed compliance actions taken by various departments, government authorities and Government of NCT (National Capital Territory) Delhi.

Yadav reviewed the status of installation of Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) in Red Category and 17 categories of polluting industries in Delhi and NCR.

Further, he assessed the status of paddy straw management in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

“Chaired a high-level review meeting on Air Quality Management in Delhi-NCR today in Delhi. Directed that farmers should receive benefits of all schemes initiated by the centre and state governments to prevent any parali burning incident. It was also emphasised that adequate parali storage areas be ensured for its proper usage after the harvesting season,” Yadav wrote in a social media post.