The national capital, Delhi, experiences another day of chilly weather as icy winds from the north and upper-level fog persist, leading to a maximum temperature below 20 degrees Celsius for the third consecutive day, as reported by India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials on Tuesday.
The Safdarjung observatory, representing Delhi’s weather conditions, recorded a maximum temperature of 17.2°C, which is two degrees below normal, while the minimum temperature stood at 8.3°C. According to IMD, the Lodhi Road weather station recorded “cold day” conditions with a high of 16.2°C, which is 4.8 degrees below normal, accompanied by a minimum temperature of 7.4°C.
IMD defines a “cold day” when the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees or more below normal, and the minimum temperature is below 10°C. Despite lower maximum temperatures at Mungeshpur and Jafarpur, IMD clarified that these locations were not considered to have recorded “cold day” conditions due to being new automatic weather stations without a defined “normal.”
Kuldeep Srivastava, an IMD scientist, explained that dense fog at upper levels prevents sunlight from penetrating, leading to the persistence of cold conditions over the past three days. The night temperature has dropped below 10°C due to cold winds.
While flights at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport remained unaffected, the Northern Railway reported delays of at least 26 trains to and from Delhi. Delhi’s air quality remained in the “very poor” category, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 340, a slight improvement from the previous day.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR) lifted Stage-3 measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), allowing the resumption of certain activities. However, the forecast by the Early Warning System (EWS) indicates that Delhi’s AQI is likely to remain “very poor” until January 5.
