Delhi shivers amid coldwave conditions as minimum drops to 4.5°C; AQI ‘very poor’

Coldwave conditions swept several parts of the national capital for a second consecutive day on Monday as mercury dropped further in the last 24 hours, with Safdarjung, representative of Delhi’s weather, recording a minimum temperature of 4.5°C, four degrees below normal.

This is the joint lowest minimum temperature so far this season after the city recorded 4.5°C on December 12 as well.

Shallow fog with a minimum visibility of around 800 metres was observed across the capital, as Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) deteriorated to the ‘very poor’ category. The average AQI was recorded at 351 (very poor) at 9 am, down from 294 (poor) at 4pm on Sunday.

Delhi last recorded a higher average AQI on November 23 (412).

However, this is only the second ‘very poor’ air day in the capital this month, in what has been a fairly clean December overall.

Meteorological experts said a drop in wind speed has led to this deterioration, with similarly low wind speeds of less than 5 km/hr likely on Tuesday as well.

“A feeble western disturbance is beginning to impact northwest India, which is slowing down winds. This should keep the AQI likely in the very poor, range,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has, meanwhile, forecast chilly weather conditions to continue, with the minimum at Safdarjung likely to hover around 5°C on Tuesday.

On Monday, the lowest minimum was 3.5°C in west Delhi’s Pusa and 4°C in Ayanagar.

Both stations recorded coldwave conditions, the IMD said.

IMD classifies it as a coldwave when the minimum temperature is below 10°C, with the departure also being 4.5°C or more below normal. It can also be called a coldwave if the minimum is below 4°C.