Delhi Records Season’s Coldest Morning at 4.5°C, Cold Wave Persists
Delhi experienced its coldest morning of the season on Thursday, with the minimum temperature dropping to 4.5°C at the Safdarjung station, the city’s representative weather observatory. On Wednesday, the city observed its first cold wave day of the season, with temperatures dipping to 4.9°C—the earliest cold wave day (temperature below 5°C) since 1996.
Temperatures at other stations were even lower, with Pusa recording 3.2°C and Ayanagar at 3.8°C.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast continued cold wave conditions for the coming days. A yellow warning has been issued for Friday and Saturday, with cold wave conditions expected in isolated areas of the city. Chilly northwesterly winds, blowing at speeds of up to 16 kmph, are likely to add to the biting cold over the next two days.
The minimum temperature is expected to range between 4°C and 6°C, while the maximum will hover between 23°C and 24°C. On Wednesday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 23°C, about two degrees below normal.
According to the IMD forecast, Delhi will experience mostly clear skies over the next seven days, with foggy conditions expected from December 15 to December 17.
The IMD defines cold wave conditions as occurring when temperatures drop below 4.1°C or when the deviation from normal is more than 4.4°C in plains, provided the usual minimum temperature is 10°C or lower.
IMD officials noted that the last time Delhi’s minimum temperature fell below 5°C in early December was on December 6, 1987, at 4.1°C. On December 11, 1996, the city recorded an even lower minimum temperature of 2.3°C.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality has deteriorated, with the AQI slipping into the ‘poor’ category.
A day after Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) improved to the ‘moderate’ category at 199, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily bulletin, it dropped to 266, placing it in the ‘poor’ category by 10 AM on Thursday.
The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, has forecast that air quality will remain in the ‘poor’ category for the next six days.
Low temperatures hinder the dispersal of pollutants, while higher wind speeds aid in clearing the air. On Thursday morning, wind speeds from the southwest were recorded at below 10 kmph, according to the IMD.
