Delhi-NCR woke up to cold, foggy Monday morning as minimum temperature drops to 5.5°C

Delhiites woke up to a cold and foggy Monday morning with the minimum temperature settling at 5.5 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season’s average. The air quality index oscillated between ‘moderate’ and ‘poor’ categories with major pollutants PM 2.5 at 178 and PM 10 at 201 in the Lodhi Road area, according to the Air Quality Index (AQI) data. As the cold waves intensified, people living on the streets took refuge in the night shelters.

The humidity was recorded at 94 per cent at 8.30 am, said a meteorological (Met) department official. The Met office has forecast clear skies during the day. As many as 19 trains to and from Delhi were cancelled.

“The skies will be clear. Strong gusty winds are likely to prevail during the day. The maximum temperature is likely to hover at 19 degrees Celsius,” the weatherman said.

On Sunday, the minimum temperature settled at 5.2 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature was recorded at 18.8 degrees Celsius. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast the temperature to dip further on Monday with cold wave conditions during the day and moderate fog in the morning.

"Clear sky with strong surface winds during the day and cold wave conditions are likely to prevail at isolated pockets," the official said. The maximum and minimum temperatures on Monday are likely to settle around 19 and 4 degrees Celsius respectively, the official added.