NEW DELHI: Delhi woke up to another chilly morning on Friday with the minimum temperature settling at 3.8 degrees Celsius.
Minimum temperatures are likely to remain low over the next few days until a fresh Western Disturbance around January 5-7 occurs in the northern plains inducing rainfall, weather officials said.
As per IMD data, on Friday, the Safdarjung Observatory, the base station for Delhi recorded the minimum temperature at 3.8 degrees C – three notches below the season’s average.
Lodhi Road weather station recorded the minimum temperature of 4 degrees C, three notches below normal for this time of the year.
According to officials, an intense Western Disturbance is likely to affect the Western Himalayan Region during January 4-7, with the possibility of isolated heavy rainfall over plains of northwest India, including parts of Delhi around January 5-7.
Mahesh Palawat, vice-president, Skymet, a private weather forecaster, said that minimum temperature is likely to remain low on January 1st as well.
“The sudden drop in mercury is mainly on account of northwesterly winds blowing from snow-clad mountains returning to Delhi. A WD likely to approach Delhi-NCR on January 5-7 may result in moderate rainfall as well as hailstorm in parts of the city. ,” he said.
Meanwhile, air quality plunged to ‘very poor’ on Friday, two days after remaining in the ‘poor’ zone.