NEW DELHI: Despite clear skies and plenty of sunshine, the minimum temperature remained near four degrees Celsius in most of the national capital on Thursday, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
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The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a minimum temperature of 4.6 degrees Celsius as icy winds from the western Himalayas continued to whip through Delhi.
The Ayanagar and Ridge weather stations recorded minimum temperatures of 3.8 degrees Celsius and 3.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The maximum temperature is likely to be set around 18 degrees Celsius, said the IMD, which predicts ‘cold day’ conditions in some places.
The IMD had declared a cold snap in Delhi on Tuesday when icy winds blowing from the snow-covered western Himalayas lowered the minimum temperature to 4.1 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the city this season so far.
According to the IMD, minimum temperatures are likely to remain around five degrees Celsius through Friday.
Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional forecasting center, said the western Himalayas saw widespread snowfall due to heavy western disturbances and that now icy winds have been blowing toward the plains, bringing down the mercury.
For the plains, the IMD declares a cold snap when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or less and is 4.5 notches lower than normal for two consecutive days.
“However, for small areas like Delhi, a cold snap can be declared if the criteria are met even for one day,” Srivastava said.
A “cold day” is when the minimum temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum is 4.4 degrees Celsius below normal.
Air quality was recorded in the “poor” category.
The city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was 248 at 11 a.m. M. The 24-hour average AQI was 262 on Wednesday and 230 on Tuesday.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor” and 401 and 500 “severe”.
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