Mercury increases slightly, but cold respite may be short lived

India Meteorological Department (IMD) recordings show that on Monday, the minimum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the official recording of the city, was 5.5 degrees Celsius.

Delhiites got a brief respite from the cold, as the minimum temperature in the city on Monday rose by around degrees Celsius.

People warm themselves around a bonfire amid cold weather at Yamuna riverbank near Mayur Vihar, in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

India Meteorological Department (IMD) recordings show that on Monday, the minimum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the official recording of the city, was 5.5 degrees Celsius. This is three degrees below the season’s average.

The maximum temperature was 22.4 degrees Celsius.

On Sunday, the minimum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung observatory was 3.4 degree Celsius, five notches below the season’s normal and also the lowest for the season so far.

Scientists said that the spike in temperature was because of the passing of a western disturbance in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

“This marginal rise in the temperature was an impact of the western disturbance in the hills. By Tuesday, however, the temperature will start falling again and we expect it to drop down to around 3 degrees Celsius in the coming days,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre.

Srivastava also explained that even though the western disturbance did not bring any rainfall in Delhi and the neighbouring towns, the moisture content in the air had increased, which also caused the pollution levels to go up.

Union ministry of earth science’s air quality monitoring centre, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), said that the air quality might deteriorate further in the coming days as the temperature dips.

“A gradual rise in minimum and maximum temperature is likely in the Delhi region. However, surface winds are likely to slow down and surface inversion is likely to form. A sharp deterioration of ventilation condition is forecasted for the next two days,” Safar analysis said.

It added, “The AQI is forecasted to deteriorate to the higher end of the very poor category on December 22 and likely to stay in the high end of very poor on December 23 and 24.”