Delhi stayed locked in a cold wave for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, though temperatures showed a slight improvement from the previous day but the winter chill continued to dominate, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The IMD said Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, which was 0.1 notch above normal, while the minimum temperature settled at 3.8 degrees Celsius, 3.6 notches below the seasonal average.
The weather department said the city has been experiencing one of its coldest spells in recent years, with minimum temperatures hovering near 3 degrees Celsius since the beginning of the week. Delhi had last recorded a lower January minimum temperature of 1.4 degrees Celsius on January 16, 2023.
Station-wise data recorded at 5:30 pm showed that the Safdarjung Observatory, the city's principal weather station, recorded a maximum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. Lodhi Road recorded 19.3 degrees Celsius, Ayanagar 19.2 degrees Celsius and Ridge 18.2 degrees Celsius, while Palam reported a significantly lower maximum temperature of 16 degrees Celsius.
Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius, 3.6 notches below normal. Palam logged a minimum of 4.4 degrees Celsius, 2.9 notches below normal, while Lodhi Road recorded 3.6 degrees Celsius, 2.4 notches below the seasonal average.
Ridge reported a minimum temperature of 4.6 degrees Celsius, 3.5 notches below normal, and Ayanagar recorded a low of 4 degrees Celsius, 3.1 notches below normal, the IMD data showed.
On Tuesday, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 21.6 degrees Celsius, 1.7 notches above normal, while the minimum temperature had plunged to 3 degrees Celsius, 4.4 notches below normal.
According to the weather department, Tuesday recorded the coldest January morning in three years.
The IMD has issued a "yellow" alert for cold-wave conditions for Thursday, with temperatures expected to range between 5 degrees Celsius and 22 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the air quality in the capital remained in the "very poor" category. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 353, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
In the evening, 30 monitoring stations witnessed "very poor" air, while the AQI was recorded in the "severe" category at four stations and in the "poor" category at four other stations. Nehru Nagar recorded the worst air quality with an AQI of 423.
According to the CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 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".
According to the Decision Support System (DSS), the transport sector accounted for 12.8 per cent of the pollution, followed by industries at 10.6 per cent. Waste burning contributed 1.1 per cent, construction activities 1.6 per cent and the residential sector 3.1 per cent.
Among the National Capital Region (NCR) districts, Jhajjar accounted for the highest share at 21.4 per cent, followed by Rohtak at 5 per cent, Bhiwani at 4.4 per cent, Sonipat at 1.7 per cent and Gurugram at 1.6 per cent.
According to the Air Quality and Weather Services (AQWS), the capital's air quality is likely to remain in the "very poor" category from January 15 to January 17. The outlook for the subsequent six days also indicates that the air quality is likely to stay in the "very poor" category.
Visibility levels dropped sharply in the morning. Safdarjung reported the lowest visibility of 200 metres at 8 am, which improved to 300 metres by 8:30 am. Palam recorded a minimum visibility of 200 metres at 9:30 am, improving to 300 metres by 10 am, the IMD said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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