Delhi weather today: Cold wave grips city, mercury dips to 4 degrees Celsius

The Safdarjung, Lodi Road and Aya Nagar weather observatories of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded cold wave conditions over the past 24 hours. The minimum temperature at Aya Nagar was 3.8 degrees Celsius, a little more than four degrees below the normal. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature at Lodhi Road was 3.7 degrees Celsius, around 3.3 degrees below the normal for this time of the year.

An IMD update on Tuesday morning said that cold wave conditions are likely to continue over parts of Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh over the next 24 hours.

The IMD forecast indicates that the minimum temperature on Tuesday is also likely to settle at 4 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature on the day is likely to be 21 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature is likely to increase slightly over the next few days, going by the forecast. It is likely to be 7 degrees on Dec 23 and 8 degrees on Dec 24 and 25. The possibility of rainfall is on the forecast for Dec 27.

The air quality in Delhi is forecasted to be in the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday, according to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi. The AQI could remain ‘very poor’ on Wednesday and Thursday as well, the forecast indicates. Calm conditions and slow winds are keeping the air quality ‘very poor,’ and it is likely to remain so till Dec 25.

The 24-hour average AQI at Jahangirpuri, Bawana, Anand Vihar, Mundka, Wazirpur, and Ashok Vihar was in the ‘severe’ category at 10 am on Tuesday. The AQI at Jahangirpuri stood at 443, while it was 434 at Anand Vihar.