Delhi shivers at season-low minimum of 4.6°C

Delhi experienced its lowest January temperature in two years at 4.6°C, leading to a record power demand of 6,087MW amid worsening pollution and haze.

New Delhi

A foggy morning at Kartavya Path. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

A piercing chill rang through the Capital in the early hours of Friday, as the minimum temperature continued its slide and settled at 4.6 degrees Celsius (°C), the lowest of the season and also the lowest for January in two years, since it recorded 3.5°C on January 16, 2024, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The minimum temperature was 5.8°C the day before, and 8.6°C on the day preceding that.

With the city moving away from traditional forms of heating, such as bonfires, to electrical equipment to curb pollution, the day also saw Delhi record a power demand of 6,087MW, the highest-ever and the first time it crossed the 6,000MW threshold in the winter period (November to March), according to distribution companies.

The chill also compounded pollution woes, as the low temperature and humidity led to a layer of haze that trapped pollutants closer to the surface. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) on Friday was 345 (“very poor”), according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB’s) daily bulletin. It was 280 (“poor”) the day before.

“Low temperature and high humidity is leading to a spike in pollution level and a layer of haze in the air. When humidity is high, the particulate pollutants stick to the water vapour droplets and remain in the lower layer of atmosphere as they are heavy. This causes a higher AQI as well as a thicker layer of fog,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet.

Palawat said that wind speed on Friday was 5-7 kmph, which barely helped in dispersing the pollutants. Delhi logged an average humidity level of 63-100% on Friday, due to light rain in the adjoining areas.

“While there was trace amount of rain in parts of Delhi and Noida, there was light rain in Haryana and northeast Rajasthan as well. This led to an excess moisture in the air. The rain was caused due to mixing of moisture-laden air from the Arabian Sea, which was causing cyclonic circulation over Rajastha. Dry wind caused anti-cyclonic circulation over Madhya Pradesh. This led to cloud formation over southern parts of Delhi and neighbouring areas,” Palawat said.

According to IMD data, until 8.30am on Friday, Safdarjung and Lodhi Road weather stations recorded trace rainfall. The Ayanagar weather station recorded 0.8mm of rainfall between 11.30pm on Thursday and 2.30am on Friday.

While no further rain has been forecast over the weekend, high moisture content is expected to create a layer of dense fog enveloping the city.

IMD has issued a yellow alert for Saturday. “Moderate fog is expected in different parts of the city and dense fog in some isolated places in the morning hours of Saturday. However, throughout the rest of the day, mainly clear skies are expected to persist,” said an IMD official.

While visibility remained good for the most part of the day—leading to zero flight cancellations at the Delhi airport—at least 450 flights were delayed until the evening, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

The maximum temperature on the day was 19.7°C, 0.7°C above normal and up from 17.5°C recorded the day before. According to forecasts by the Met department, the maximum and minimum temperature are expected to be around 16-18°C and 5-7°C on Saturday.

The power demand was also at an all-time high. The peak winter demand was 5,655MW in 2025 and 5,816MW in 2024.

“Delhi witnessed an unprecedented surge in electricity consumption today (Friday) as the city’s peak power demand touched an all-time high of 6,087MW, breaching all previous records. This marks the highest-ever power demand recorded in the national capital, underscoring the growing electricity requirements driven by changing consumption patterns and prevailing weather conditions,” said an official from the power discom Tata Power DDL (Delhi Distribution Limited).