Cold is likely to tighten its grip across the national capital with the India Meteorological Department’s forecast suggesting a further drop in the mercury and the possibility of very light rain or drizzle towards Friday night.
According to IMD, the minimum temperature on Thursday settled at 6.4 degrees Celsius, two points below the season’s average here, while the maximum temperature was pegged at 23 degrees C, a notch above the normal for the season.
Wind speed on Thursday witnessed a decrease and was recorded at 5.6 Km per hour at 6 pm.
People across the city continued to feel the intensifying cold, especially the homeless who found respite at night shelters or beside bonfires.
At some of the residential colonies, some animal lovers expressed concern for the strays, and were seen providing the street dogs with jackets.
A person, requesting not to be named, donated blankets and food packets to the homeless at an old Delhi area, saying that one should do whatever one can to help those in need.
Making things more difficult, the average air quality of the city was recorded in the ‘very poor’ category, with an index value of 361.
NCR cities like Noida and Ghaziabad also recorded air in the ‘very poor’ zone while Gurugram and Faridabad reeled under ‘poor’ air, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The weatherman has forecast the minimum temperature to hover around 5 degrees C on Friday and maximum at around 23 degrees C.