Delhi records coldest morning at 2.9 degrees Celsius, AQI remains ‘poor’

The national capital woke up to a windy and chilly morning today with severe cold wave conditions during the early hours. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded the coldest morning of the ongoing winter season with a minimum temperature of 2.9 degrees Celsius today. It is the lowest January reading in the last three years, as per IMD data.

The lowest temperature was recorded in the Ayanagar area, according to the weather department. While other places across the city also reeled under an intense cold spell, with minimum temperatures recorded close to the three-degree mark early morning today. As per IMD data, Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 3.0 degrees Celsius.

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IMD has suggested that similar cold conditions are expected to persist through the day.

Last night, the minimum temperature was measured at 4.8 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, while the Ridge station recorded a minimum temperature of 3.7 degrees Celsius. The temperatures are likely to fall further to around 3 degrees Celsius tonight.

AQI remains ‘poor’

While the cold wave deepens, air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category in the national capital. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 293, as of 7 am today.

Several areas were engulfed in a layer of smog, impacting visibility.

AQI classification defines a reading between 0 and 50 as ‘good’, 51 to 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 as ‘poor’, 301 to 400 as ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 as ‘severe’.

Cold wave warning issued

A yellow alert was issued by the India Meteorological Department yesterday for a cold wave in Delhi-NCR for Monday. It suggested the weather conditions will likely worsen over the next two days amid plunging temperatures across several parts of Delhi.

Also, IMD has forecast that visibility in Delhi NCR is likely to drop, and cold conditions may further aggravate in the coming days.
According to IMD, a region is declared to have cold wave conditions if minimum temperatures dip between 4.5 and 6.4 degrees Celsius below normal, depending on local climatology.