Delhi witnesses coldest January morning since 2024, minimum temperature drops to 4.6 degrees

Delhi recorded its coldest January morning on Friday since 2024, according to the India Meteorological Department, bringing a bitter cold to the city as the temperature dropped to its lowest level this winter.

The maximum temperature in the national capital settled at 19.7 degrees Celsius, 0.7 degrees above normal, indicating almost normal day conditions despite overnight coolness and light rain in parts of Delhi.

The minimum temperature dropped to 4.6 degrees Celsius, 2.3 degrees below the seasonal normal, the coldest morning of the current winter season.

The last comparable minimum temperature was recorded on December 4 and 5 last year, when the mercury dropped to 5.6 degrees Celsius, followed by 5.7 degrees on December 1.

As per the weather observations recorded, the maximum temperature varied at different stations across Delhi, with Safdarjung recording a maximum of 19.7 degrees, which was 0.7 degrees above normal.

The maximum temperature in Ayanagar was 19.0 degrees Celsius, 2.1 degrees above normal, while Lodhi Road recorded 18.8 degrees Celsius.

The Ridge station recorded a maximum temperature of 17.9 degrees Celsius, while Palam recorded the lowest day maximum temperature of 17.2 degrees among the listed stations.

Station-wise data showed that Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 4.6 degrees Celsius, while Palam recorded 5 degrees, Lodhi Road 5.2 degrees and Ridge 5.4 degrees.

On the rainfall front, Safdarjung and Lodhi Road recorded moderate rainfall in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am, while Ayanagar received 0.8 mm rainfall. No rainfall was recorded at Palam and Ridge stations during the same period.

IMD said dense fog was observed at many places and a yellow alert has been issued for dense fog. Relative humidity was 100% at 8.30 am, which dropped to 73% by 5.30 pm, leading to reduced visibility during the morning hours.

The weather office said that cold wave conditions are likely to persist in parts of North and North-West India including Delhi-NCR in the coming days, although there is no possibility of severe cold wave as of now.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remains in the ‘very poor’ category, with the 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) at 345. 26 monitoring stations reported very poor air quality, worsening from poor levels recorded a day earlier.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board classification, an AQI between 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’ and 401-500 ‘severe’.

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According to the Decision Support System (DSS), vehicle emissions remained the largest contributor to Delhi’s pollution load at 16.9%, followed by Delhi and peripheral industries at 13.1%. Other local sources include waste burning (1.6%), construction activities (2.1%) and residential emissions (4.3%).

Among neighboring NCR districts, the contribution to pollution was led by Sonipat (13%), followed by Baghpat (8.9%), Jhajjar (5.5%), Ghaziabad (5.4%), Panipat (4.8%) and Gautam Buddh Nagar (1.7%).

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System, the air quality is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category on January 10, while it is expected to improve slightly to ‘poor’ category from January 11 to January 12, provided meteorological conditions remain favourable.