Intensifying the ongoing winter chill, the temperature in the national capital plunged to 7 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The weather agency has predicted that the maximum temperature is likely to hover around 18 degrees Celsius and the minimum may further drop to 4.6 degrees.

According to thw morning update, a temperature of 7 degrees Celsius was recorded at 8.30 a.m. with a relative humidity of 85 per cent.

Cold wind was blowing in the southern direction at a speed of 7.5 km per hour.

The city observed sunrise at 7.09 a.m. and the sun is likely to set at 5.29 p.m.

In the past 24 hours, the maximum temperature was recorded at 17.8 degrees Celsius, five notches below the normal, and the minimum was 6.4 degrees.

Delhi will continue to witness colder weather in the coming days, the IMD said, adding that “snowfall in many areas of Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh is having an impact on the plains”.

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) said the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital was 183 for PM10 and 102 for PM2.5.

As the PM10 went over 100, the IMD has issued a ‘moderate’ health advisory which means that sensitive people should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion and heavy outdoor work.

The PM2.5 level was also under the ‘poor’ category.

Usually, the air quality is categorised as ‘good’ when the AQI is between 0 to 50; ‘satisfactory’ between 51-100; ‘moderate’ between 101-200; ‘poor’ between 201-300; ‘very poor’ between 301-400; ‘severe’ between 401-500; and ‘hazardous’ at over 500.

Delhi, generally, has good to satisfactory air quality. However, the pollution levels during October to February due to various factors including stubble burning, road dust, vehicle pollution, and cold weather lead to a deterioration in the AQI.

Notably, Delhi has 36 monitoring stations that accurately record the levels of both particulate matters.

As per the latest update at 10.56 a.m., the other pollutants nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) were recorded at 33 and 59, respectively.

The data for carbon monoxide (CO) was not available.