Delhi colder than Shimla, Mussoorie on Thursday as minimum drops to 4.5°C

Delhi recorded a season-low temperature of 4.5°C amid cold wave conditions, the coldest December day in three years, with alerts in effect until Saturday.

Cold winds swept in from the Himalayas and coursed through Delhi on Thursday, pushing the minimum temperature to a fresh season’s low of 4.5°C, with parts “cold wave” conditions gripping parts of the city.

A thin layer of fog at the Red Fort in Delhi on Thursday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photoimes)

Thursday was the Capital’s coldest December day in three years, with the minimum temperature four degrees below normal and even lower than some hill stations, including Shimla (where the low was 5°C) and Mussoorie (6.9°C).

The last time Delhi recorded a lower minimum temperature in December was 3.2°C on December 20, 2021.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has a yellow alert in place till Saturday, forecasting that cold wave conditions will persist and the minimum will hover around 4°C at Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station. It may dip by another degree or two at other stations, said the agency.

Delhi’s temperature dipped below 5°C for the first time this season, to 4.9°C, on Wednesday, the earliest such dip since 1987.

IMD classifies a “cold wave day” as one when the maximum temperature is 4.5°C or more below normal, and when the minimum is below 10°C. To be sure, Wednesday was classified as a “cold wave day” because even though the temperature was higher than it was on Thursday, it was 5°C lower than the normal (a number that shifts every day).

However, cold wave conditions were recorded at the Ayanagar (3.8°C) and Pusa (3.2°C) stations, IMD said.

“The western disturbance which began to influence northwest India from December 8 onwards is still bringing fresh snowfall to the mountains. This is what is leading to the drop in temperature across the plains, as we have consistent northwesterly winds blowing,” said an IMD official, stating that no change in wind direction or wind speed was likely over the next two to three days, with a further dip in temperature possible.

“Until wind speeds drop and become fairly calm, or we see cloudiness through another western disturbance, there will be no change in the weather and the plains will continue to see coldwave conditions,” the official added.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet meteorology, a private weather forecaster, said the minimum may rise marginally after the weekend.

“We have seen fresh snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir as well as in Himachal Pradesh in the last 24 hours. We expect snowfall to stop by Friday, however, cold winds will persist till Sunday. After that, the minimum may gradually rise by a degree or two,” he said, adding that a fresh western disturbance is unlikely in the next seven days.

Cold winds also kept Delhi’s maximum below normal. It was 22.2°C on Thursday, a degree below normal and down from 23°C a day earlier. The lowest maximum across the city was 19.6°C at Palam.

Forecasts show Delhi’s maximum is likely to hover around 23°C till the weekend.

December already has started off on a cooler than usual note, after Delhi saw a warmer than usual October and November. To be sure, IMD has forecast a warmer than usual December for most of northwest India, including Delhi-NCR, with both average maximum and minimum temperature to be above normal.