Alert! Minimum Temperature in Delhi to Drop to 10 Degree Celsius; IMD May Declare Cold Wave

Delhi Weather

The minimum temperature in the national capital this week will drop to 11 degrees Celsius, according to the latest forecast from the  India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday. 

Delhi awoke to a foggy Thursday morning with a minimum temperature of 13 degrees Celsius and an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 360, placing it in the 'very bad' category. 

The weather department also predicted that this year's November will be the coldest in the past four to five years. 

The minimum temperature in the national capital was lower than Dalhousie (10.9°C), Dharamshala (10.6), and Mandi (10.2) in Himachal Pradesh, and Mussoorie (10.4) in Uttarakhand. The lowest temperatures at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, and Nainital, Uttarakhand, were both 10 degrees Celsius. 

According to IMD statistics, the maximum temperature will fluctuate between 25 - 28 degrees Celsius throughout the week. 

At 8.30 a.m., the relative humidity was 95 percent. 

At 9 a.m., the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) recorded 69 and 125 of PM 2.5 and PM 10 pollutants, respectively. 

Meanwhile, after remaining in the 'very poor' category from November 10 to 12, the Air Quality Early Warning System projection for Delhi showed that the national capital's AQI might progressively improve. 

The wind is still flowing from the northwest, making it ideal for transporting pollutants from crop residue burning. 

On Wednesday, the contribution of stubble burning to PM2.5 levels in Delhi is expected to be approximately 14%. According to the SAFAR forecasting system, this is down from a level of 27% on Tuesday. 

On Thursday morning, the AQI at a few monitoring stations in the city remained in the 'severe' category (between 401 and 500), while others reported a 'very bad' AQI (between 301 and 400). 

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, Anand Vihar had an AQI of 453, ITO 410, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 405, RK Puram 395, and Wazirpur 440. 

Since Diwali, the air quality has been worse. Gopal Rai, the Delhi Environment Minister, submitted a second letter to his Union counterpart Bhupender Yadav on Thursday, requesting an emergency meeting with all NCR states to tackle the problem of stubble burning.