Gurgaon: A thick layer of dense fog surrounded the city on Thursday morning. Visibility dropped to 50 metres, affecting traffic movement in several parts of Gurgaon. The minimum temperature rose to 11 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal, while the daytime temperature was recorded at 26 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the region will witness cloudy sky for the next two days, but no rainfall is expected for the week. “No significant change in minimum temperature will be experienced in next 4-5 days and weather will be dry and clear. However, there is a possibility of clouds in the coming two days with no rain,” an IMD official said.
According to the IMD’s weekly forecast, the minimum temperature is likely to hover around 12 degrees Celsius on Friday, while the maximum temperature will settle at 27 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the city’s air quality was recorded in the poor category on Thursday with the air quality index (AQI) being recorded at 294.
Three of the four monitoring stations — Vikas Sadan, Sector 51 and Teri Gram —showed the AQI in a very poor category, while it was in poor category at Gwalpahari station. The AQI reading at Gwalpahari was 284, it was 305 at Vikas Sadan, 307 at Teri Gram and 348 at Sector 51.
Meanwhile in Delhi, IMD has predicted that daytime temperature will remain 5 to 6 degrees above normal for the next seven days. Delhi’s maximum temperature may hover around 30 degrees Celsius. Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD and head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said, “There will be a gradual increase in both minimum and maximum temperatures. The winter chill is over and there is no prediction of cold wave or cold day conditions.” He added there might be slight variation in the temperature on some days but the weather was predicted to remain comfortable in the month.
The maximum temperature recorded on Thursday was 26.1 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal, while the maximum temperature on Wednesday was 30.4° Celsius, seven degrees above normal. The minimum temperature on Thursday settled at 9.6 degrees Celsius, one notch below the normal.
Met officials said the maximum temperature was expected to hover around 27-28 degrees Celsius on Friday and Saturday but likely to remain around 30 degrees Celsius from February 15.