Temp plunges; cold wave alert issued in parts of city

The national capital felt the winter chill on Thursday as mercury plunged to 5.6°C at dawn, nearly 3.9°C below normal for this time of year, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

- Snehil Sinha

The previous lowest minimum temperature for this season was 5.7°C on Monday, also the lowest minimum for the first week of December in at least 14 years, according to IMD data recorded from 2011 onwards.

Met officials warned that the chill may deepen, with pockets of the city expected to face cold wave conditions with a shallow morning fog on Friday.

“Mainly clear sky can be expected with shallow fog during morning hours. Cold wave conditions at isolated places are also expected. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 22 and 5 degrees Celsius respectively,” said an IMD official on Thursday. A coldwave is declared when the minimum temperature drops below 10°C, and is also 4.5°C or more below normal, with at least two stations meeting this criterion for two consecutive days.