Blanket of fog shrouds Delhi, IMD predicts minimum temperature of 4°C

The national capital had recorded a minimum temperature of 5.4 °C on Wednesday, three notches below the normal. On Sunday, the maximum temperature had dropped to 15°C, six notches below the normal and was the lowest in January so far.

Delhi on Thursday morning was engulfed in fog with less than 500 metres of visibility as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted a minimum temperature of 4 degree Celsius and a maximum temperature of 21 degree Celsius for the day. The IMD had earlier stated that ‘cold’ to severe ‘cold wave’ is likely to exist over Delhi and neighbouring states such as Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan for the next three to four days.

Delhi’s air quality on Wednesday remained under the ‘very poor’ category. (ANI file photo)

The national capital had recorded a minimum temperature of 5.4 degree Celsius on Wednesday, three notches below the normal. On Sunday, the maximum temperature had dropped to 15 degree Celsius, six notches below the normal and was the lowest in January so far.

“Dry northwesterly winds over plains of North India & adjoining parts of central India are likely to prevail during next 3-4 days. Under its influence: Dense to Very Dense Fog in isolated/some pockets very likely over Uttarakhand, Punjab, the weather department had earlier tweeted.

The IMD declares a cold wave in the plains if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degree Celsius. A severe cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature is 2 degree Celsius or less. An IMD official told news agency PTI on Wednesday that icy winds barrelling through the plains were likely to bring the mercury down again.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality on Wednesday remained under the ‘very poor’ category. The air quality index (AQI) stood at 339, according to the update provided by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). The research system highlighted that the air quality had depleted due to moderate local wind speed with low stubble burning along with other few reasons. “The AQI is likely to stay in the very poor category for January 28-29,” it added.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101- 200 is moderate, 201- 300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor and 401-500 is considered severe.