Fog blanks out sun as Delhi shivers on another cold day

IMD has also issued a “yellow alert” for Saturday, which means similar weather conditions will persist and this dense upper-level fog will continue

Delhi’s bitterly cold and grey start to 2024 continued with the peak temperature staying under 15 degrees Celsius – five notches below normal for this time of the year – and Friday being officially classified by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) as a “cold day”.

At Mayur Vihar on Friday morning. The minimum temperature fell to 9.1°C in parts of Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Much like the day before, the Capital got no sunlight as a thick and dreary fog, coupled with shivering winds, continued to engulf the city. IMD has also issued a “yellow alert” for Saturday, which means similar weather conditions will persist and this dense upper-level fog will continue.

Relief, and that too only marginal, is expected only Monday onwards, according to IMD’s forecasts, with an approaching western disturbance expected to bring warmer winds and eventually, chances of light rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The maximum temperature at Safdarjung, which is representative of Delhi’s weather, settled at 14.6°C on Friday, 5°C below normal and a minor jump from Thursday when it fell to 12.5°C.

Thursday, which was classified as a “severe cold day”, was Delhi’s coldest in two years -- since January 25, 2022 when the maximum was 12.1°C.

According to IMD’s classifications, a “cold day” is when the maximum temperature is 4.5°C or more below normal, with the minimum temperature also being below 10°C. It is considered a “severe cold day” when the maximum temperature is 6.5°C or more below normal. Thursday’s minimum was 7.7°C, meaning both criteria were met.

“Meteorologically, conditions on Friday remained similar to Thursday, but the only difference being a slight dip in wind speed, which reduced the chill factor. The fog has stabilised and formed almost a sealed layer over large parts of northwest India and similar conditions are expected on Saturday,” said IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava.

Delhi’s minimum temperature moved up slightly on Friday touching 9.4°C, 3°C above normal.

The lowest recorded minimum in the city was 9.1°C at the Ridge station.

The lowest maximum across the capital on Friday meanwhile was 13.1°C at Jafarpur, followed by 13.2°C at the Ridge station. Safdarjung recorded Delhi’s highest maximum on the day, with the remaining stations all recording a maximum below 14.6°C.

The intensity of the cold could also be deduced from the narrow difference between the night-time low and the day-time high – the two were separated by just 5.2°C at Safdarjung. Such a low gap between the two values means there was no respite from the cold throughout the day. Usually, this difference is 10-15°C this time of the year. As recent as December 22, this gap was around 18°C, with the maximum around 24°C and the minimum around 6°C.

The lowest visibility in Delhi was 150 metres at Palam at around 6am. However, by 8am visibility improved beyond 500 metres, officials said. Around 22 trains were delayed by over one hour on Friday, Northern Railway data showed. At Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, over 10 flights were delayed.

The forecast for Saturday states conditions will be similar to Friday’s – the maximum will hover around 15°C while the minimum will stay around 9°C. On Sunday, the maximum is forecast to be around 16°C and the minimum around 8°C.

IMD predicts that the maximum will rise to 17°C by Monday as a western disturbance starts to approach Delhi.

“The approaching western disturbance should impact Delhi by January 9, with light rain forecast on the day. Warmer winds will raise mercury slightly,” Srivastava added.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remained in the “very poor” category, but improved in comparison to Thursday.

The city’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 333 (very poor) as per Central Pollution Control Board’s national bulletin issued at 4pm on Friday. It was 377 (very poor) at 4pm on Thursday.

Forecasts by the Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi – a forecasting model under the ministry of earth sciences, said Delhi’s air quality should remain ‘very poor’ till January 8.