At 6.9 degrees, Delhi records coldest November morning in 17 years

Cold waves swept parts of the national capital and surrounding areas as Delhi recorded coldest November since 2003 on November 22.

NEW DELHI: Delhi residents woke up on Sunday to the chilliest November morning in the last 17 years, with minimum temperature clocking a low of 6.4 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road, as a cold wave swept parts of the city. It's closest to the record set on November 29, 2003 when the mercury dipped to 6.1 degrees.

"The Safdarjung Observatory which provides representative data for the city, recorded a minimum of 6.9 degrees Celsius. It is Delhi's lowest minimum temperature in the month since November 2003, when the city recorded a minimum of 6.1 degrees Celsius," said Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre. The mercury dropped to 6.1 degrees Celsius at the Palam weather station, he said. He predicted that the temperature is expected to rise for the next three-four days to drop again after November 27.

On November 23, the temperature in the national capital was recorded at 8.4 degree Celsius at 5:30 am. 

According to IMD scientists, the minimum temperature does not usually drop below 10 degrees Celsius in November. They attributed the fall to the combination of cold winds and clear sky in Delhi.

For the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and is 4.5 notches less than normal for two consecutive days. "However, for small areas such as Delhi, a cold wave can be declared if the criteria is fulfilled even for a day," he said.

Delhi had recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 11.5 degrees Celsius last year, 10.5 degrees Celsius in 2018 and 7.6 degrees Celsius in 2017 in the month of November.

Delhi AQI:

Delhi's air quality remained 'poor' on November 23 and government agencies said it is likely to deteriorate further due to unfavourable meteorological conditions. The Air Quality Index was recorded at 259 in Delhi, 317 in Noida and 280 in Gurugram. The city's 24-hour average AQI was 274 on Sunday, 251 on Saturday, 296 on Friday, 283 on Thursday and 211 on Wednesday.

The central government's Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi said Delhi-NCR's air quality is likely to deteriorate to the "very poor" category on Monday due to unfavourable meteorological conditions.