At 6.2 °C, Delhi saw coldest December night in three years; could get colder over next 2-3 days

The mercury dropped to 6.2 degrees Celsius in the early hours of Monday, making it the coldest night of the season so far. The air quality, too, worsened on the first day of the week and slipped back into the ‘very poor’ category, after a four-day gap .

Delhi’s night-time temperature is expected to drop below five degrees Celsius later this week, according to the weather bureau after the national capital on Monday experienced the coldest night of the season so far.

A man walks through a vegetable field on a foggy winter morning in New Delhi, India, December 18, 2018. (REUTERS)

The mercury dropped to 6.2 degrees Celsius in the early hours of Monday, making it the coldest night of the season so far. The air quality, too, worsened on the first day of the week and slipped back into the ‘very poor’ category, after a four-day gap . While the minimum temperature Monday was two degrees below normal, the maximum temperature stood at 22.1 degrees Celsius, which was normal.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that it could get colder over the next three days, as the night-time temperature is expected to drop below five degrees Celsius Thursday.

The dip in mercury levels and slowing winds could, however, push up pollution levels, government agencies have warned.

“Over the next three or four days, the night temperature is expected to dip further and could drop below five degrees Celsius. The day temperature could rise by a degree or so,” Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the regional weather forecasting centre at New Delhi, said.

Gurugram too witnessed its coldest night of the season, with the temperature dropping to 4.2 degree Celsius in the early hours of Monday.

The minimum temperature in December hasn’t dropped below five degrees Celsius in Delhi in three years — 2015, 2016 and 2017. It dropped to 2.2 degrees on December 30 in 2014.

The lowest temperature Delhi has ever witnessed in December was 1.1 degrees Celsius on December 26, 1945.

“Strong northwesterly winds are bringing in the chill from the hilly regions of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, which encountered snowfall last week. The clear sky is helping the night temperature to drop further,” Srivastava said.

Meteorologists said that while a clear sky helps the night temperature drop and pushes the day temperature up, a cloudy sky does the inverse.

The IMD has forecast that winter this year would be warmer than average with fewer cold waves between December and February. There will be lesser winter rain as well, according to the forecast.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) value, as given by the Central Pollution Control Board, Monday was recorded to be 337. On Sunday it stood at 282. On a scale of 0 – 500, a value between 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, one between 301 and 400 is ‘very poor’, and a value between 401 and 500 is categorised as ‘severe’.

“Winds are likely to slow down, and pollution levels could increase gradually, over the next two days at least. The AQI is, however, unlikely to breach the ‘severe’ mark,” said a scientist from Safar, the union government’s pollution forecasting agency.

Strong winds and a light rain had improved the air quality significantly last week. The AQI had improved to moderate levels.