Delhi records coldest morning of season

Cold wave conditions continued to tighten their grip on the national capital for the fifth straight day on Thursday, with Delhi recording its coldest morning of the season and a yellow alert in place as the chill is expected to persist into Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

- AIMAN FATIMA

People sit around a makeshift fire to warm themselves on a cold winter morning, in Gurugram, on Thursday

(PTI)

At Safdarjung, Delhi’s primary weather station, the minimum temperature plunged to 2.9 degrees Celsius, nearly five degrees below normal, marking the city’s coldest morning of the winter so far. The reading was also Safdarjung’s lowest January minimum since 2023, when the mercury had fallen to 1.4 degrees Celsius on January 16. Day temperatures remained subdued, with Safdarjung recording a maximum of 19.5 degrees Celsius, around 0.4 degrees below the seasonal average.

The chill was reflected across stations in the city, with Palam registering a maximum of 16.2 degrees Celsius, 3.5 degrees below normal, while Lodhi Road recorded 19.4 degrees, the Ridge 19.0 degrees, and Ayanagar 19.4 degrees, IMD data showed. Minimum temperatures also stayed well below average: Palam recorded 2.3 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 3.4 degrees, the Ridge 4.5 degrees, and Ayanagar 2.7 degrees.