Minimum temp may rise slightly in Delhi

New Delhi: Delhi’s minimum temperature settled at 7.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday and is likely to increase slightly over the next two days under the influence of a fresh western disturbance, the IMD said.

Giving a respite from the chilling weather conditions, the minimum temperature in the national capital settled relatively higher at 7.6 degrees Celsius on Thursday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also said that the minimum temperature is also expected to increase slightly over the next two days due to the influence of a fresh Western Disturbance.

“A fresh Western Disturbance will start affecting the Western Himalayan region Friday onwards. As a result, the minimum temperature in Delhi is likely to increase slightly,” an IMD official said.

The WD will lead to widespread snowfall in the upper hills of the Western Himalayas. Cold, dry winds from the snow-capped mountains will bring the mercury down to 4 degrees Celsius by Monday, he said.

A “cold day” is when the minimum temperature is less than 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum is at least 4.5 degrees Celsius below normal.Earlier, the mininum temperature in Delhi slipped to to 5.7 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature in the city dipped to 15.3 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, the IMD said.

The official said the city’s air quality is predicted to improve slightly as the wind speed picks up.

The air quality index stood at 304 at 9 am.

The city’s 24-hour AQI was 283 on Wednesday, 404 on Tuesday, 372 on Monday and 347 on Sunday.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe.

Delhi has already registered six severe air quality days this month.