Amid the ongoing cold waves, dense fog enveloped Delhi on Thursday as the minimum temperature plummeted to 5.8 degrees Celsius in the national capital. According to the India Meteorological Department,
the temperature in the capital on Thursday was 1.1 degrees below normal as cold northerly winds from the Himalayan region moved towards Delhi.
With this, the national capital experienced its coldest morning of the season. Earlier on December 20, Delhi witnessed the lowest minimum temperature of the season, when the mercury dropped to 6.1 degrees Celsius.
The weather department predicted that 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.
According to the weather department, the cold weather conditions is likely to persist through this week. However, the IMD has predicted a marginal rise in the maximum temperature from Friday. Till January 14, Delhi is likely to see clear skies with shallow to moderate fog in the morning hours.
All schools in the national capital will remain closed until January 15 in view of the severe cold conditions.
Meanwhile, the air quality in Delhi improved marginally, but remained in the upper end of the “poor” category. AQI of 276 (poor) was recorded at 9 am on Thursday. The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi warned that the air quality was likely to deteriorate to the “very poor” category again in the second half of the day.
In neighbouring Punjab and Haryana, the temperature dropped to under 5 degrees Celsius. In Kashmir, most regions saw sub-zero temperatures at night. The lowest was recorded at the tourist town of Sonamarg, which shivered at minus 10.1 degrees.
