Take cover: Winter ramps up chill to a season-low of 4.6°C

A piercing chill rang through the Capital in the early hours of Friday, as the minimum temperature continued its slide and settled at 4.6 degrees Celsius (‘O), the lowest of the season and also the lowest for January in two years, since it recorded 3.5°C on January 16, 2024, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

- Aheli Das

The minimum temperature was 5.8°C the day before, and 8.6°C on the day preceding that.

IMD has issued a yellow alert for Saturday. “Moderate fog is expected in different parts of the city and dense fog in some isolated places in the morning hours of Saturday. However, throughout the rest of the day, mainly clear skies are expected to persist,” said an IMD official.

IMD has forecast mainly clear skies for Sunday, with possibility of shallow to moderate fog in the morning hours. However, there is no alert in place.

With the city moving away from traditional forms of heating, such as bonfires, to electrical equipment to curb pollution, the day also saw Delhi record a power demand of 6,087MW, the highest-ever and the first time it crossed the 6,000MW threshold in the winter period (November to March), according to distribution companies.