Delhi experiences coldest November in 14 years as temperature dips to 7.5 degrees Celsius
IMD officials said temperatures are expected to dip further from November 22, when a western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region.
The minimum temperature in Delhi on Friday dropped to 7.5 degrees Celsius – the lowest the Capital has recorded in November in at least 14 years, the India Meteorological Department said, according to PTI.
Last year, Delhi had recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 11.5 degrees Celsius, 10.5 degrees Celsius in 2018 and 7.6 degrees Celsius in 2017 in the month of November. The all-time record for the lowest minimum temperature in November is 3.9 degrees Celsius recorded on November 28, 1938.
The city witnessed cold wave conditions, as the minimum temperature was five notches below normal, Mahesh Palawat, an expert at private forecasting agency Skymet Weather, told PTI. Palawat said cold winds blowing from the snow-laden western Himalayas led to a dip in the mercury, adding that a similar situation will prevail till Saturday.
The India Meteorological Department had on Monday forecast that minimum temperatures would fall under the 10-degrees Celsius mark this week, according to the Hindustan Times.
“Normally, minimum temperatures don’t drop below 10°C in November,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the regional weather forecasting centre at IMD. “It’s unusual for minimum temperatures to drop to single digits around this time. Winter is setting in early this year.”
Srivastava added that temperatures are expected to dip further from November 22, when a western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region. Winds are likely to get faster from Friday, up to around 18 kmph, thereby also dispersing pollution in the region, he said.
Delhi’s air quality index at 10 am on Friday was recorded at 292 in the “poor” category, data from the Central Pollution Control Board showed. According to SAFAR, the overall AQI was recorded at 309.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51-100 falls under “satisfactory” zone, 101-200 is “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor” and 401-500 is “severe” category. A fall in temperatures makes the air cold and heavy, leading to accumulation of pollutants near the ground.