Dense Fog and Cold Winds Grip Delhi as Temperatures Fall Below Normal, Air Quality Remains Poor

A thick blanket of fog covered Delhi on Thursday as icy northwesterly winds pushed the minimum temperature down to 5.8°C, nearly a degree below normal and sharply lower than 8.6°C recorded a day earlier. The air quality stayed in the “poor” category despite marginal improvement.

The maximum temperature was expected to remain between 15°C and 17°C, with persistent upper-level fog across the northern plains limiting daytime warming. At Palam, the mercury dipped further to 4.8°C. Earlier this month, on December 4 and 5, Safdarjung, Delhi’s official weather station, recorded the season’s lowest minimum of 5.6°C.

Cold day conditions continued in isolated parts of the capital for a second consecutive day on Wednesday. Dense fog and cold winds kept the maximum temperature at 16.7°C, around two degrees below normal, slightly higher than 15.7°C recorded the previous day.

According to weather definitions, a “cold day” occurs when the minimum temperature is below 10°C and departs from normal by 4.5°C or more, while a “severe cold day” is declared when the maximum temperature is 6.5°C or more below normal. These conditions were met at Palam and Lodhi Road weather stations.

Visibility deteriorated sharply, dropping to 150 metres at Palam on Thursday, compared with the city’s lowest visibility of 600 metres on Wednesday.

Skymet Weather vice president Mahesh Palawat said persistent northwesterly winds and fog were preventing a rise in daytime temperatures, noting that limited sunshine was “not strong enough” to warm the city.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 276 (poor) at 9am on Thursday. The Air Quality Early Warning System cautioned that pollution levels could worsen to the “very poor” category again in the latter half of the day.