Delhi grapples with cold wave, minimum temp 4ºC
A cold wave continued to sweep Delhi on Tuesday as the minimum temperature at the Safdarjung Observatory, considered to be the official marker for the capital city, was recorded at 4° C, four notches below the normal.
On Monday, the national capital had reeled under a cold wave as the minimum temperature had dropped to 3.2° C, five notches below normal and the lowest so far this season.
So, though there was a marginal rise in the mercury level, it was still on the lower side as the weather remained chilly in the morning.
The relative humidity was recorded at 94 per cent in the morning, according to the India meteorological department (IMD).
In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4° C. A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is 10° C or below and is 4.5 notches below normal.
The maximum temperature in the evening was recorded at 22.4° C, one notch above the normal, while the relative humidity was recorded at 58 per cent.
The weather office has forecast shallow fog and the minimum and maximum temperatures on Wednesday are likely to hover around 5° C and 23° C.
Two “back-to-back” western disturbances and the resultant slowing down of cold northwesterly winds from Tuesday night will push the minimum temperature up, R.K. Jenamani, a senior scientist at the IMD, had said on Monday.
Cold wave conditions were observed on Tuesday at a few places over Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and at isolated pockets over Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal, Saurashtra and Kutch, and Vidarbha and Telangana, an official said.
On Monday, the maximum temperature in Delhi had settled at 21° C, a notch below the normal. The air quality index (AQI) of Delhi in the morning was 380, which falls in the ‘very poor’ category, which deteriorated to ‘severe’ category late evening, according to CPCB data.