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Icy winds dip min temp to 5.8°C as dense fog envelopes Delhi, AQI remains ‘poor’
The maximum temperature was likely to hover between 15 and 17°C as the fog was expected to persist at upper levels across the northern plains
A dense fog enveloped Delhi on Thursday as icy-cold northwesterly winds dipped the minimum temperature to a degree below normal at 5.8°C, compared to 8.6°C a day earlier, and the air quality remained “poor”.
The maximum temperature was likely to hover between 15 and 17°C as the fog was expected to persist at upper levels across the northern plains. The mercury plunged to 4.8°C at Palam. On December 4 and 5, Safdarjung, Delhi’s representative weather observatory, recorded the lowest minimum temperature of the season at 5.6°C .
Cold day conditions continued in isolated pockets of Delhi for a second day on Wednesday. Upper-level fog and icy-cold northwesterly winds kept the maximum temperature two degrees below normal at 16.7°C, marginally higher than the 15.7°C the day before.
A “cold day” is when the minimum temperature is below 10°C and the departure from normal is 4.5°C or more. It is a “severe cold day” when the maximum temperature is 6.5°C or more below normal. Palam and Lodhi Road weather stations met this criterion.
On Thursday, the visibility dipped to 150 metres at Palam. The lowest recorded visibility in Delhi was 600 metres on Wednesday.
Private forecaster Skymet Weather vice president Mahesh Palawat said consistent northwesterly winds and fog were preventing a rise in the maximum temperature. “...a few places had sunshine, but it was not strong enough.”
The air quality improved marginally, but remained in the upper end of the “poor” category. A rolling 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 276 (poor) was recorded at 9am on Thursday. The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi said the AQI was likely to deteriorate to the “very poor” category again in the second half of the day.
