Mercury dips to season’s lowest, may drop further
Delhi’s AQI, which continued to remain in the ‘poor’ category for a fourth consecutive day, is likely to worsen in the next 24 hours amid low temperatures and a drop in wind speed, says IMD
NEW DELHI: Delhi’s minimum temperature dipped to a seasonlow of 11.3 degrees Celsius (°C) on Thursday — one degree below normal for this time of the year —with the Met forecasting it will go down further in the next 48 hours as cold northwesterly winds blow towards the Capital.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast a minimum temperature of around 10°C on Friday and Saturday, with chances of mercury falling below the 10-degree mark in some parts of the city. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI), which continued to remain in the “poor” category for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday, is likely to worsen in the next 24 hours amid low temperatures and a drop in wind speed to negatively impact the air quality, which could still remain in the higher end of the “poor” category.
Safdarjung, which is considered the representative station for Delhi’s weather, recorded a minimum temperature of 13.2°C on Wednesday, and 15.4°C on Tuesday. Prior to Thursday, the predominant wind direction was southeasterly, which kept the minimum temperature relatively high.
So far this winter, the lowest minimum temperature recorded was 12.6°C on November 12 and 13.
“Following the western disturbance which brought snowfall to the higher reaches between November 13-15, we are now seeing northwesterly winds, which are bringing the impact of this snowfall to the plains. Temperature is expected to dip by another 1-2 degrees
Celsius in the next 48 hours across northern India,” said RK Jenamani, scientist at IMD.
Delhi’s maximum temperature, too, saw a drop on Thursday, at 25.4°C — two degrees below normal for this time of the year. Delhi’s maximum temperature was 27.5°C on Wednesday.
Mahesh Palawat, vice-president at Skymet meteorology, said the impact of northwesterly winds will remain till November 19, before a slight increase in both maximum and minimum temperatures. “This western disturbance will bring snowfall to the western Himalayas but the impact will be shortlived and will mainly influence Delhi around November 19-20.
When there is a western disturbance, the minimum temperature rises as there is a change in wind direction, but after that, cold northwesterly winds will once again start blowing and a second spell of low temperatures can be expected after November 21,” he said.
According to the long-period average (LPA), the average normal minimum temperature for November 12-16 is 13.6°C, for November 17-21 it is 12.4°C, for November 22-26 it is 11.3°C, and for November 27-30 it is 9.9°C.
However, data from previous years shows that the mercury can dip lower in November. While the lowest minimum temperature in November last
Satisfactory 51-100 Poor 201-300 Severe 401-500
Nov 15 Nov 16 Nov 17 Nov 18
(forecast)
year was 9.2°C — on November 24, it fell to 6.3°C on November 23, 2020. In 2019, the lowest minimum temperature was 7.6°C on November 24, data showed.
IMD forecasts suggest that Delhi’s minimum temperature will be around the 10-degree mark on Friday, and the maximum will hover around 26°C.
In terms of air quality, Delhi recorded an AQI reading of 260 (poor) on Thursday, a slight improvement from Wednesday’s reading of 264. Forecasts for air quality, according to the Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi, show the AQI is likely to stay “poor” on Friday as well, but will touch “very poor” (301400) by Saturday.