New Delhi, Jan 6 (IANS) Residents of Delhi woke up to cold morning on Friday with the minimum temperature recorded at 4 degrees Celsius, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that cold wave conditions are likely to remain for another 24 hours in the national capital as well as in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.
While the Safdarjang Observatory recorded the minimum temperature of 4 degrees, it was recorded much lower in the other stations, with Ayanagar registering 1.8 degrees, Ridge 3.3 degrees and Lodhi Road 3.8 degrees.
A day earlier, Delhi recorded the season’s lowest minimum temperature at 2.2 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in the national capital on Friday is likely to hover around 17 degrees.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president Meteorology at SkyMet, said in a tweet: “Dense fog over Delhi-NCR Palam Airport visibility dropped to 150 M at 06:00 hours. Improved to 300 m at 08:30 hours. Visibility of Runway 28 is 1400 m and Runway 29 is 1200 m. “
In its latest update, the IMD said that cold to severe cold day conditions will preside over parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Rajasthan and in some places in Punjab and Haryana as well.
On Friday, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 361 under the “very poor” category.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”; 51 and 100 “satisfactory”; 101 and 200 “moderate”; 201 and 300 “poor”; 301 and 400 “very poor”; and 401 and 500 “severe”.
Mathura Road registered the highest AQI of 440 under the “severe” category, followed by Pusa (359), Lodhi Road (342) and Ayanagar (338) all “very poor”.
Experts said that the AQI may continue to remain in the “very poor” category for few more days.
According to a forecast from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research, the air quality of the city will deteriorate further under the “very poor” category reaching 375 on Saturday.
–IANS
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