Delhi: Mercury hits season’s lowest at 6°C

Delhi’s temperature is expected to dip further in the coming days with IMD predicting cold wave conditions in isolated pockets in North West India during the next three days

The national Capital continued to witness a drop in mercury levels on Saturday with the minimum temperature plummeting to 6°C (degrees Celsius), the lowest temperature so far this winter.

Delhi’s air quality was in the satisfactory category on Saturday morning. (PTI)

The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the representative station for Delhi’s weather, recorded a minimum temperature of 6°C on Saturday morning, marginally below Friday’s temperature of 6.2°C and two degrees below the normal temperature.

IMD officials attributed the dip in temperature to cold winds and clear skies. Temperature is expected to dip further in the coming days with IMD predicting cold wave conditions in isolated pockets in North West India during the next three days. As per the IMD’s weekly forecast, the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 24°on Saturday. As per the weekly forecast, a clear sky is expected during the day.

Delhi’s air quality was in the satisfactory category on Saturday morning. Data from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed that the hourly air quality index (AQI) at 11am stood at 294. On Friday, the average 24-hour AQI stood at 223 in the satisfactory category. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

As per the Union ministry of earth science’s air quality monitoring centre, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), AQI is likely to worsen due to calm winds and dipping temperatures. Due to calm local surface winds, the dispersion of pollutants is low while the drop in minimum temperature also helps the accumulation of pollutants. “For the next three days, surface wind speed (calm up to 10 km/h) and temperature (maximum temperature 24-23°C and minimum temperature 5°C.) are likely to increase AQI,” stated the forecast.