Coughs & shivers: Chilly winds, poor air hit Delhiites; dense fog at Palam reduces visibility to 100 metres | Delhi News
NEW DELHI: Chilly north-westerly winds and dense fog led to cold day conditions in parts of Delhi on Tuesday. A yellow alert was issued for similar conditions in isolated pockets on Wednesday. The maximum temperature at Safdarjung, the city’s base station, dipped to 15.7 degrees Celsius, over three notches below normal. However, this did not meet the criteria for cold day conditions across the entire city, apart from Palam (13°C, six degrees below normal) and Lodhi Road (15.8°C, five notches below normal).A ‘cold day’ is declared when the minimum temperature is below 10°C and the departure of maximum temperature from the normal is four-and-a-half notches or more.Met officials said that fog and cloudy skies prevented sun rays from penetrating the surface in some parts of Delhi, leading to the day temperatures plummeting. Dense fog was recorded at Palam, with visibility dipping to 100 metres, while Safdarjung saw moderate fog with the lowest visibility at 250m. Maximum temperatures across the city were observed in the range of 13 to 16°C, said India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist Krishna Mishra. The department forecast the maximum to hover between 14 and 16°C on Wednesday. However, it is predicted to rise from Friday, when it may reach 18 to 20°C. “During this time of the season, strong surface winds cause cold day conditions. Chilly westerly winds blowing at 10 to 12 kmph prevailed in the city on Tuesday. However, the wind speed is expected to dip from Friday. This may result in the day temperature to start rising. Even the low cloud layer is expected to disperse by then, which may increase the hours of sunshine,” said Mishra.Safdarjung has recorded two cold days this winter: the first on Dec 20, when the day temperature dipped to 16.9°C. The second was on Dec 31, when the maximum was 14.2°C — the lowest in six years for the month of Dec. On Tuesday, the minimum temperature was 7.6°C, one notch above normal, and slightly more than 6.6°C a day earlier. Delhi’s air quality deteriorated on Tuesday. According to Central Pollution Control Board, the city’s 4pm air quality index (AQI), considered the day’s standard reading, stood at 310, (very poor category), as against 244 in the poor range on Monday. No respite from foul air is expected in the coming days. The city’s air quality is likely to be in the very poor category from Wednesday to Friday and six days thereafter, according to Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.
