Minimum temperature to dip further in coming days, says IMD

The minimum temperature in Gurugram fell below the 10 degree mark on Friday to touch a low of 9

The minimum temperature in Gurugram fell below the 10 degree mark on Friday to touch a low of 9.2 degrees Celsius (°C), according to the India Meteorological Department. The mercury is expected to dip further in the coming days owing to cold winds from the hills, which saw snow and rainfall last week, said IMD, adding that the minimum temperature is likely to be in the range of 8-10°C over north-west and central India for the next four or five days.

Gurugram, India-November 24: Students going to school amid cold and smoggy weather at Pataudi road near Sector-10A, in Gurugram, India, on Thursday, 24 November 2022. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

The minimum temperature in the city on Thursday was 10.2°C.

The air quality in the city remained in the “poor” category on Friday with an air quality index (AQI) reading of 254 on Friday. The air quality is likely to deteriorate further as slow wind speeds have been predicted for the next few days, the weather experts said.

Manmohan Singh, director, IMD Chandigarh, said both day and night temperatures will dip by a degree or two in the next few days and cold conditions will prevail over Delhi-NCR. “There is no major weather activity visible over the region, but temperature will dip by a degree or two both in the day and at night. Overall the weather will remain dry in the coming days,” said Singh.

He also said that shallow to moderate fog is expected in some places in Haryana.

As per the Met department, the lowest minimum temperature in the city was recorded at 9.1°C at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra monitoring station. The maximum temperature at the station was 26.9°C. The IMD forecast also said the minimum temperature will hover between 8 and 9°C for the next seven days.

The dip in temperature and slow wind speed is likely to increase air pollution in Delhi-NCR, including Gurugram.

The Indian Institute for Tropical Meteorology in its forecast said the air quality over Delhi-NCR is likely to remain in the lower end of “very poor” category on Saturday.

The air quality is likely to remain in upper end of “poor category” on Sunday. For the subsequent six days, the air quality is likely to remain largely in the “very poor” category, it said.

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) in its forecast said for the next three days, upper level winds will come from north-west direction and is likely to bring with it pollutants from stubble burning states if the fire counts increase. AQI is likely to be in the ”poor” or ”lower end of very poor” for the next few days due to the net effect of transport, local emissions and efficiency of dispersion and ventilation.