Delhi: Minimum Temperature to Dip by 2 to 4°C, Says IMD; AQI Remains ‘Very Poor’

Delhi on Sunday saw a slight increase in its minimum temperature due to a  western disturbance affecting Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that even after the minute increase, the temperature was still two notches below the usual.

The minimum temperature on Sunday rose to 6.5 degrees Celsius in comparison to the 5.5 degree Celsius on Saturday.

The weather department further noted that the national capital’s minimum temperature is expected to dip to 5 degrees Celsius by December 21, a Hindustan Times report said. In the next two to three days, many parts of northwestern India will also witness a dip in the temperature by two to four degrees Celsius.

IMD scientist, Kuldeep Srivastava said, “Though the western disturbance is not directly impacting Delhi, it is still leading to cloudiness, which has raised the minimum slightly and halted the dip in the temperature. Mercury should remain around six to seven degrees Celsius for the next three days.”

M Mohapatra, IMD Director General, said that when the western disturbance moves away, cold and northwesterly winds are expected to low over north India. “But we are not expecting onset of cold wave conditions yet,” HT quoted Mohapatra as saying.

A cold wave, according to IMD, is in a region where minimum temperature is either 4.5 degrees Celsius or lower than the usual mark, or when it drops to four degrees Celsius or lower.

Most parts of northern states including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and UP have minimum temperatures in the range of five to ten degrees Celsius. Some parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, north Chhattisgarh and western parts of Gangetic West Bengal, north interior Odisha and Bengal also have similar range of temperatures.

The national capital recorded its season low of 4.9 degrees Celsius on Friday, which marked the city’s coldest day of December since 2021 New Year’s Eve, which had a temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius. Last year in December, temperatures did not go below five degrees, remaining at a static 5 degrees Celsius on December 26.

Sunday’s maximum temperature was 24.7 degrees Celsius, which is three degrees above usual, but a degree below Saturday’s 25.4 degrees Celsius.

Without the presence of low clouds and heavy fog — for the next six days — the maximum temperature is predicted to remain between 23 and 25 degrees Celsius.

The national capital also recorded shallow fog on Sunday, with the lowest visibility standing at 600 metres. However, the foggy situation did not disrupt the operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Meanwhile, pollution levels in the city continued to remain in the ‘very poor’ category, with an average air quality index (AQI) of 331 on Sunday. Predictions suggest that AQI is likely to remain the the same category for the next three days.

The weather department also forecasted light to moderate rains in Tamil Nadu and Kerala on December 17 and 18, with some isolated regions predicted to receive heavy to very heavy rains.

While Lakshadweep is also predicted to receive heavy to very rains from December 17 to 19.