Severe cold wave in Delhi; minimum temperature dips to 1.1 degree Celsius, lowest in 15 years

NEW DELHI: Delhi kicked off the new year shivering as minimum temperatures were just a nick above the freezing point on Friday morning.

The Safdarjung observatory, which provides representative data for the capital, recorded a minimum temperature of 1.1°C, six degrees below normal. Amidst a severe cold wave, this was the lowest temperature yet so far this winter season.

Cold wave conditions are met in non-mountainous regions when the mercury falls below 10°C, and the minimum temperature is at least 4.5°C below its normal temperature.


Delhi's air quality too took a turn for the worse on Friday morning. With slow winds speeds and dipping temperatures, the skies were near or at emergency levels for most parts of Delhi-NCR with AQI values of above 400.

Area	Temperature	Deviance from normal
Safdargunj	1.1	-6
Palam	4.1	-3
Lodhi Road	1.4	-5
Ayanagar	1.2	N/A

This trend is likely to continue on Saturday as well, as the winds slow down further. However, a fresh western disturbance is likely to positively affect air quality.

Some light showers over the weekend are possible as well, the weather office said.

"However, a fresh Western Disturbance is very likely to affect the region by 3rd January. This will lead to improved surface winds speed, better ventilation and rainfall to bring relief by 3rd January," said the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the government's nodal agency that tracks and forecasts air pollution.

The severe cold wave has been affecting the parts of north India for the past six weeks. Early morning on January 1 also saw minimums of -1.2°C in Hissar, Haryana, the coldest place in India. It was a deviation of 7.3 degrees, the India Meteorological Department said.