Intense cold grips Delhi, cold wave conditions likely to persist

Delhi experienced intense cold conditions on Monday as the minimum temperature dipped to around 3 degrees Celsius at several weather stations across the city, marking the coldest January day in the national capital since 2023.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the last time Delhi recorded a colder January minimum temperature was on January 16, 2023, when it fell to 1.4 degrees Celsius.

Station-wise data recorded at 8.30 am showed that the Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi’s principal weather station, registered a minimum temperature of 3.2 degrees Celsius, which was 4.2 notches below the normal for this time of the year.

The Palam weather station recorded a minimum temperature of 3.3 degrees Celsius, while Lodhi Road logged a minimum of 3 degrees Celsius. Ridge reported a minimum temperature of 4.2 degrees Celsius, and Ayanagar recorded 3.2 degrees Celsius, as per IMD data.

The weather department said the maximum temperature in the national capital is expected to reach around 19 degrees Celsius during the day. It also said that cold wave conditions are likely to persist over Delhi for the next two days.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed that the city’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 298.

Around 20 air quality monitoring stations across the city recorded ‘very poor’ air quality levels, while the remaining stations were in the ‘poor’ category. Nehru Nagar reported the worst air quality, with an AQI of 344, according to CPCB data.

As per the CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.