Mercury dips a bit, minimum temperature in Delhi at season’s lowest

NEW DELHI: Delhi recorded the lowest minimum temperature of the season at 8.3 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal, at Safdarjung, which is the city’s base station, on Saturday. However, Jafarpur was the coldest station as the minimum temperature dipped to 7.6 degrees Celsius, followed by Lodhi Road at 8 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the air quality of the capital improved as it again touched the ‘poor’ category with an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 281 on Saturday. Delhi’s AQI was 314 in the ‘very poor’ category on Friday.
Before this, Safdarjung recorded the season’s lowest temperature on December 9 at 8.4 degrees Celsius. A Met official said the absence of cloud cover makes the day warm, while the heat quickly dissipates at night, which causes a fall in minimum temperature. The maximum temperature on Saturday was recorded at 23.7 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal.
Track the pollution level in your city
According to the forecast of India Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature is likely to touch 8 degrees Celsius on Sunday and Monday. However, the night temperature is expected to rise marginally from Tuesday. The Met department said the minimum temperature is predicted to hover around 9-10 degrees Celsius between December 14 and 16. “Under the influence of a western disturbance, the wind direction is predicted to change to easterly on the night of December 13, causing a rise in minimum temperature,” said RK Jenamani, senior scientist at IMD.
However, Delhi’s air quality, which had turned ‘very poor’ on Friday, witnessed an improvement. System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research, the forecasting body under the Union ministry of earth sciences, said, “For the next three days (December 12 to 14), winds are likely to be low to moderate. Partially cloudy conditions and moderate mixing layer height causing moderate vertical mixing are likely to keep air quality within the ‘poor’ range during noon or ‘lower end of very poor’ during night and early morning hours for the next three days.”