NEW DELHI: Delhi has recorded its first cold wave of the season, with the Safdarjung weather station noting a low minimum temperature of 4.9 degrees Celsius, which is five degrees below the normal level.
A yellow alert for cold wave conditions has been issued for Thursday and Friday, with predictions indicating a minimum temperature around 4 degrees Celsius.
This cold wave marks the earliest occurrence since December 6, 1987, when temperatures fell below 5 degrees to reach 4.1 degrees Celsius.
Weather experts attribute the chill to consistent and strong northwesterly winds. “On December 10, the city experienced robust westerly winds with speeds topping 20 kmph.
The skies were clear and the air was extremely dry, leading to minimal moisture. Cold, dry winds with clear skies significantly raise the chill factor,” explained RK Jenamani, a senior weather scientist at IMD.
“Today, the wind speed has decreased but still ranges between 10-15 kmph, maintaining the icy breeze.” In the plains, a cold wave is identified when the minimum temperature is at or below 10 degrees Celsius and is also below 4.5 degrees of the season’s average.
If the first condition is not met, the second condition is a minimum temperature of 4 degrees or less. The recorded minimum temperature of 4.9 degrees on Wednesday equaled the lowest temperature from Dec 2023, noted on December 15.
This was a significant drop from Tuesday’s minimum of 8 degrees. Last year, the lowest minimum in December was 5 degrees on December 26, while in 2021, it was recorded at 3.2 degrees on December 20. The lowest all-time temperature for December is 0 degrees, which was observed on December 27, 1930.
Ayanagar in southwest Delhi recorded the lowest temperature in the city at 3.8 degrees. Furthermore, the city’s maximum temperature stayed below normal at 23 degrees Celsius, which matched Tuesday’s figure and is two degrees under the average.
The expected maximum and minimum temperatures for Thursday are 23 and 4 degrees Celsius, respectively. Meanwhile, the city saw an improvement in air quality, now classified as ‘moderate’ on Wednesday, thanks to the strong winds the day before.
The air quality index (AQI) reading was 199, down from 234 the previous day. Neighboring areas like Faridabad and Ghaziabad reported even better air quality, registering AQI figures of 98 and 52, falling within the ‘satisfactory’ range.
The IITM’s advanced air quality forecast indicates that the AQI may slip back into the ‘poor’ category between December 12 and 14.
“The outlook for the next six days suggests that air quality is likely to remain in the poor category,” warned the IITM forecast.
