NEW DELHI: A cold wave gripped Delhi on Monday as the minimum temperature dropped to 6.3 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department.
This is the lowest in the month of November since 2003 when the city recorded a minimum of 6.1 degrees Celsius.
On Sunday, the national capital had recorded a minimum of 6.9 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 24.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest day time temperature so far this month.
“Today Delhi at 6.3 degrees is colder than Shimla (7.1 degree celsius) and Mussoorie (6.5 degree celsius). Western Disturbance induced clouds are over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab leading to rise in minimums. The Delhi minimum will rise tomorrow. Weekend will be cold again,” said Mahesh Palawat from private weather forecasting agency Skymet.
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, as per IMD, for small areas such as Delhi, a cold wave can be declared if the criteria is fulfilled even for a day.
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 November.