Delhi shivers as minimum temperature dips to season’s lowest at 4.2 degrees Celsius

The national capital on Saturday recorded a minimum temperature of 4.2 degrees Celsius, which was 2.7 notches below the season’s average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

With this, Delhi logged the coldest morning of the ongoing winter season since 2024.

The previous coldest January day in recent years was recorded on January 15, 2024, when the minimum temperature had plunged to 3.3 degrees Celsius, triggering cold wave conditions across the national capital.

Station-wise data showed that the minimum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 4.2 degrees Celsius. Palam recorded 4.5 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road reported 4.7 degrees Celsius, the Ridge station registered 5.3 degrees Celsius, while Ayanagar also recorded 4.5 degrees Celsius, indicating a sharp dip across Delhi’s weather stations.

Saturday’s reading followed Friday’s second-coldest morning of the season, when the minimum temperature had dropped to 4.6 degrees Celsius.

The third-lowest minimum temperature of the current season was recorded earlier on December 4 and December 5 last year, when the mercury had settled at 5.6 degrees Celsius, followed by December 1, when the minimum temperature stood at 5.7 degrees Celsius.

The IMD has predicted dense fog conditions during the day. Relative humidity was recorded at 100 per cent at 9 am.

Air quality in the capital was recorded in the ‘very poor’ category at 9 am on Saturday, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 366, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

As per CPCB standards, an AQI between zero 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’.