New Delhi, Dec 5 (UNI) Delhi residents experienced winter chill with the city’s minimum sticking at 5.6 °C for two consecutive days, nearly 4 notches below normal for this time of the year. Friday and Thursday’s minimum temperature was the lowest recorded in the season, with the previous minimum of 5.7°C on the first day of the month, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.
Chilly winds carrying an acrid smell of pollutants persisted through the evening as the city’s air quality deteriorated, with the maximum temperature settling at 23.5°C, 1.8°C below normal.
Experts attributed the low dispersion of pollutants to slower wind speeds, degrading the city’s average air quality index from the previous day’s readings. On Friday, Delhi recorded average AQI values of 328 at 4 pm against Thursday’s 304, according to Central Pollution Control Board Data (CPCB).
The minimum temperatures are likely to climb up, the weather department predicted. “Minimum temperatures are likely to rise by about 3-4° C during the next 3 days,” IMD said in a statement.
Despite the forecast for rising minimum temperature, shallow fog is expected in the morning hours over the next six days.
