At 8.3°C, Delhi logs coldest day of season, min may dip to 7°C by Monday

The maximum temperature, meanwhile, was recorded at 23.4°C — one degree below normal for this time of the year

Mercury continued to dip gradually in Delhi and the minimum temperature was recorded at 8.3 degrees Celsius (°C) — one degree below normal for this time of the year and the lowest so far this season, the India Meteorological Department has said, adding that this will likely drop to around 7°C by Monday owing to northwesterly winds prevailing in the region.

No significant change in meteorological conditions is expected in the coming days, but wind speed will again drop, IMD said. (Arvind Yadav/ HT Photo)

The Capital did not record fog on Sunday and the lowest visibility was recorded at 1,100 metres. IMD classifies visibility between 500-100 metres as “shallow” fog, between 200-500 metres as “moderate” fog, and below 200 metres as “dense”.

IMD said wind speed touched 20km/hour during the day which prevented fog. Wind speed is expected to tumble down to 6-8 km/hour on Monday marking the return of shallow fog.

“No significant change in meteorological conditions is expected in the coming days, but wind speed will again drop. The wind direction should remain northwesterly in the coming days, as no western disturbance is expected. This will lead to a gradual drop in minimum temperature, which should now hover around 7°C,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.

Delhi’s minimum temperature on Saturday was 8.5°C and it was 9.2°C on Friday.

The maximum temperature, meanwhile, was recorded at 23.4°C — one degree below normal for this time of the year. It was 25.3°C a day earlier. This is the lowest maximum for Delhi since it was 22°C on November 28, following intermittent spells of rain.

The increase in wind speed also helped Delhi’s air quality marginally, which remained in the “very poor” category. Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 314 (very poor), according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s national bulletin at 4pm. It was 321 (very poor) a day earlier at the same time.

Forecasts by the Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi, which the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR relies on for decision-making purposes, show no significant change in air quality is expected in the coming days.

“Delhi’s air quality is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category from December 11 till 13. The outlook for the subsequent six days shows the air quality is likely to be between the ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’ category,” it said.