Delhi on Saturday experienced its coldest minimum temperature of the season, dipping to 3.6 degrees Celsius, accompanied by widespread thick fog across various parts of the city, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
A day earlier, on Friday, the national capital had recorded a minimum temperature of 3.9 degrees Celsius, marking the lowest in the past five years.
The IMD forecasts that the maximum temperature on Saturday is expected to hover around 19 degrees Celsius.
At 5:30 am, the visibility at Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi’s primary weather station, was reported to be only 200 meters due to the dense fog.
Railway services were significantly impacted, with 18 Delhi-bound trains experiencing delays ranging from one to six hours due to the adverse weather conditions.
The IMD categorises fog intensity as follows: very dense fog when visibility is between 0 and 50 meters, dense fog between 51 and 200 meters, moderate fog between 201 and 500 meters, and shallow fog between 501 and 1,000 meters.
Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) registered at 365 at 9 am, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The AQI scale categorizes the air quality as follows: ‘good’ (0-50), ‘satisfactory’ (51-100), ‘moderate’ (101-200), ‘poor’ (201-300), ‘very poor’ (301-400), and ‘severe’ (401-500). (With inputs from PTI)
