NEW DELHI: The national capital experienced the coldest day of the year so far on Monday, with the minimum temperature settling at 5* Celsius in the morning, three notches below normal for this time of the season. The maximum temperature in the city was also recorded as the lowest yet this year, at 15.6* Celsius , six notches below the average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
As the cold wave starts to sweep across the region, dense fog lowered visibility to 50 metres in some areas of Delhi, affecting road and rail traffic. According to the weathermen, a cold wave is said to be kick in when the minimum temperature drops lower than 4.5* Celsius below normal.
The city saw the lowest minimum temperature at Ayanagar observatory, where it was reported to be 4* Celsius, while the Pitampura station witnessed the highest minimum temperature at 8.9oC. Humidity was recorded at 100% at 8:30 am and 84% at 5:30 pm, at Delhi’s base station, Safdarjung Observatory, the weather station data said.
Temperature is likely to rise by one to two degree Celsius over this week, but there will be no major increase, Met dept officials said. The coming days will also see thinning of fog from the dense category to the moderate category.
Meanwhile, the plummeting mercury is pushing up power demand. Delhi’s peak power demand on Monday was clocked at 4,803 MW at 10:22 am, the highest this season so far. This is more than the peak power demand clocked in December 2021 as well as 2020. In December 2021, Delhi’s peak power demand was recorded at 4,723 MW while it was 4,671 MW in 2020.
Delhi’s peak power demand for the winter season is likely to go up to 5,500 MW, surpassing the requirement of the last couple of years. Last year, it was recorded at 5,104 MW, as against 5,021 MW in 2020.
Monday coldest day so far this year
Minimum temperature settled at 5* Celsius on Monday morning, three notches below normal for this time of year. The maximum temperature in the city was also recorded as the lowest yet this year, at 15.6oC, six notches below the average, according to IMD