Cold wave grips Delhi for fifth straight day on Thursday as temperatures plunge

New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) Cold wave conditions tightened their grip on the national capital for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday as temperatures fell sharply across the city, with the chill expected to persist at least into Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 19.5 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, the city's primary weather station, which was 0.4 degrees below the seasonal average. The minimum temperature there plunged to 2.9 degrees Celsius, a steep five degrees below normal. At 2.9 degrees Celsius, Delhi logged its coldest morning of the season. It was also Safdarjung's lowest January minimum since 2023, when the mercury had dropped to 1.4 degrees Celsius on January 16. Day temperatures remained suppressed across the city. Palam recorded a maximum of 16.2 degrees Celsius, which was 3.5 degrees below normal. Lodhi Road logged 19.4 degrees Celsius, the Ridge 19.0 degrees Celsius and Ayanagar 19.4 degrees Celsius, IMD data showed. Minimum temperatures stayed well below average at all stations, underlining the persistence of cold wave conditions. Palam reported a low of 2.3 degrees Celsius. Lodhi Road recorded 3.4 degrees Celsius, the Ridge was at 4.5 degrees Celsius and Ayanagar at 2.7 degrees Celsius. The minimum at Palam was its lowest since 2010, with the second lowest recorded on January 7, 2013, when the mercury had dipped to 2.6 degrees Celsius. The IMD noted that cold wave conditions have prevailed over Delhi for the past four days and are expected to continue even on Friday. The maximum temperature on Friday is likely to hover around 21 degrees Celsius, while the minimum is likely to remain near 4.0 degrees Celsius. A yellow alert has been issued due to the ongoing cold wave. Comparatively, on Wednesday, Delhi had recorded a maximum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, marginally 0.1 degrees above normal, while the minimum had settled at 3.8 degrees Celsius, 3.6 degrees below the seasonal average. Meanwhile, Delhi's air quality remained a significant concern. The city recorded a 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 349, placing it in the 'very poor' category, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. The 24-hour average air quality across several monitoring stations also remained in the 'very poor' range at 343. According to CPCB's SAMEER app, 34 stations were in the 'very poor' category, 5 stations in 'poor', with Pusa recording the worst air quality at 386. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'. According to the Delhi Decision Support System (DSS), pollution sources within the city were led by transport at 13.9 per cent, followed by Delhi and peripheral industries at 11.4 per cent, residential emissions at 3.3 per cent, construction at 1.7 per cent and waste burning at 1.2 per cent. Among NCR districts, Jhajjar contributed 21.7 per cent, Rohtak 5.2 per cent, Sonipat 3.2 per cent, Gurugram 1.5 per cent and Bhiwani 4.3 per cent. The air quality is likely to remain in the 'very poor' category on January 16 and January 17 and may deteriorate further to the 'severe' category on January 18, according to the Air Quality Management System. The outlook for the subsequent six days suggests air quality oscillating between 'severe' and 'very poor', officials said. "Looking ahead, minimum temperatures are expected to begin rising gradually from January 17 to January 20, with light winter rainfall activity likely over the next few days," Mahesh Palawat from Skymet Weather. He further added that another cold spell is forecast between January 23 and January 26, when temperatures are expected to dip again to icy levels. PTI SGV SGV MPL MPL