‘Severe cold day’ in parts of Delhi as max drops to 13.4°C

Delhi experienced its lowest maximum temperature in two years, with a frigid 13.4°C. The India Meteorological Department issued a "yellow alert" for similar conditions on Wednesday, with the maximum likely to be around 16°C. The western disturbance influenced other parts of the northern plains and brought drizzle to isolated locations in the city. Delhi's air quality remained "very poor" with a reading of 343.

Delhi’s maximum temperature plummeted to a frigid 13.4 degrees Celsius (°C) on Tuesday — six degrees below normal for this time of the year and the lowest in two years — the India Meteorological Department said. The department has issued a “yellow alert” for Wednesday for similar conditions, with the maximum likely to be around 16°C.

The minimum was recorded at 7.9°C. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

IMD said isolated weather stations also recorded “severe cold day” conditions. According to the predictions made earlier, Delhi was to record the effects of a western disturbance along with a maximum of 17°C during the day, with the possibility of drizzle in the early hours. However, no significant change in the weather was recorded, and dense upper-level fog prevailed over the Capital for the seventh consecutive day.

The department classifies it as a “cold day” when the maximum temperature is 4.5°C or more below normal, and the minimum below 10°C. It is a “severe cold day” when the maximum is 6.5°C or more below normal.

The western disturbance, however, did influence other parts of the northern plains and brought drizzle to isolated locations in the city. Weather officials said that even though the minimum was recorded at 7.9°C, slightly better than Monday’s 5.3°C, fog at the upper level impeded sunlight from reaching the surface. This, coupled with icy northwesterly winds, made things bitterly cold for Tuesday.

“This was not cloudiness, but dense fog at a height. We also had cold northwesterly winds blowing through a majority of the day, which did not allow the maximum to rise too much,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.

Met officials said sunlight might break through on Wednesday which could raise the maximum temperature.

Officials said that Tuesday was also the third “cold” to “severe cold” day this season. The last two came on January 4 and 5. January 4 was a severely cold day at a maximum temperature of just 12.5°C — seven degrees below normal. On January 5, Delhi recorded a maximum of 14.6°C, five degrees below normal. Tuesday’s was the second-lowest maximum this season, behind January 4.

Delhi’s air quality meanwhile continued to remain “very poor” with a reading of 343 at 4pm, according to CPCB.