Mercury plummets again, minimum temp recorded at 4.8 °C in Delhi

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Delhi woke up to freezing cold with minimum temperature pegging below 5 degrees Celsius amid icy breeze making the people shiver.

The mercury in the early hours dropped below five degrees Celsius after a couple of days even as very dense to dense fog pervaded several places across the city lowering visibility resulting in delayed transport services.

According to the IMD, national capital recorded the minimum temperature at 4.8 degrees Celsius, three points below the normal for the season.

With not much respite during the day, the maximum temperature did not rise above 15.8 degrees Celsius on Sunday, which was a good five points lower than the season’s average, as per the weatherman.

Wind speed was around 9.3 km/hr on Sunday and is likely to go up to 10 km/hr on Tuesday, said the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).

“The predominant surface wind is likely to be coming from Northwest directions in Delhi with wind speed 04-10 kmph,” IITM said.

According to the weather agency, ‘cold day’ condition prevailed in the city and is likely to remain on Monday.

According to the weatherman, dense to very dense fog is likely on Monday morning with minimum and maximum temperatures to hover around 5 to 17 degrees Celsius respectively.

Around 11 trains bound for Delhi ran late due to the affected visibility amid fog condition.

As for the city’s air quality, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) remained in the ‘very poor’ category, with the index value of 349, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The AQI levels witnessed a spike of 20 points compared to Staurday.

The IITM said the city’s air is likely to remain in the very poor zone on Monday, however, is likely to further witness improvement.