Despite Sunshine, 'Cold Day' Conditions Prevail In Delhi

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted shallow fog in the morning on Friday. It said cold day conditions prevailed at Lodhi Road, Mayur Vihar and Narela observatories. However, at Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the official marker of Delhi, there were no cold day conditions for the day. Thursday's minimum temperature was recorded at 6.3 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal, the weather office said.

According to IMD, a "cold day" is when the minimum temperature is less than 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum is at least 4.5 degrees Celsius below normal. A "severe cold day" is when the maximum temperature is at least 6.5 notches below normal.

Lodhi Road observatory witnessed cold day conditions as the maximum temperature here settled at 16.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal while the minimum was 5.8 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal. At Narela observatory, the maximum temperature settled at 17.7 degrees Celsius, five degrees below the normal temperature while the minimum was 4.7 degrees Celsius, a dip of four degrees from normal. Similarly, at Mayur Vihar observatory, the drop in maximum temperature was five degrees Celsius as it settled at 17.3 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature here was 6.8 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.

For the last few days, Delhi had been reeling under cold day conditions due to rains, fog and had little exposure to the sun. Tuesday was Delhi's coldest January day in nine years, with the maximum temperature plunging to 10 degrees below normal and settling at 12.1 degrees Celsius.

On January 3, 2013, the city had recorded a maximum temperature of 9.8 degrees Celsius, according to IMD data. On Thursday, Delhi saw bright sunshine and people were seen enjoying the weather on their terraces and other open spaces. The maximum and minimum temperatures will hover around 19 and 6 degrees Celsius, respectively, on Friday, the weather office said. The relative humidity at 5.30 pm on Thursday was 55 per cent, it said.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s Air Quality Index (AQI) bulletin at 4 pm on Thursday, Delhi's air quality was marked “poor” as its AQI was 262. An AQI between zero 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.

With PTI Inputs