Delhi shivers at 5.3°C on season’s chilliest night

According to the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, used by CAQM for its forecasts, air quality is likely to stay “very poor” on Saturday and Sunday.

The Capital’s mercury plummetted to its lowest so far this season on Thursday, with Met officials predicting colder temperatures for the next two days. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 5.3 degrees Celsius (°C) on Friday, three degrees below normal, and a drop from 7.2°C recorded the previous day. The India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the representative station for Delhi’s weather, recorded a maximum temperature of 20.1°C, marginally below Thursday’s maximum temperature of 20.6°C and one degree below normal for this time of year.

People warm themselves around a fire on Friday morning near Akshardham Temple in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

According to forecasts, Delhi’s minimum temperature could dip further below 5°C over the next 48 hours.

“Due to persistence of high moisture and light winds at lower tropospheric levels over Indo-Gangetic plains, dense to very dense fog in many/most pockets is very likely to continue over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Uttar Pradesh in night/morning hours during the next 48 hours,” IMD said.

According to IMD’s weekly forecast, the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 20°C on Saturday while the minimum temperature is likely to stay around 5°C. A clear sky is expected during the day with moderate fog in the morning.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality levels deteriorated marginally on Friday but continued to stay in the “very poor” zone. The city logged an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 359, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) 4pm bulletin. Thursday’s AQI reading was recorded at 342 in the “very poor” category. An AQI reading 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’.

According to the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, used by CAQM for its forecasts, air quality is likely to stay “very poor” on Saturday and Sunday. The forecast says air quality is likely to deteriorate on Monday but will remain in the “very poor” category. “The predominant surface wind is likely to be blowing from the northwest in Delhi with a wind speed of 4-8kmph. Mainly clear sky and moderate fog in the morning with cold wave conditions at isolated places (likely),” the forecast said.

According to the Union ministry of earth science’s air quality monitoring centre, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), air quality is likely to worsen due to calm winds and dipping temperatures. Dispersion of pollutants is also low due to calm local surface winds, while the drop in minimum temperature is conducive to the accumulation of pollutants. “Air quality is likely to deteriorate but will be within ‘very poor’ category for the next three days due to a gradual drop in temperatures leading to fog and relatively low surface winds,” the forecast said.