Delhi shivers at 3.5 deg C, city under thick cover of fog

The mercury dropped to a minimum of 3.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning, accompanied by a dense layer of fog that impacted both rail and road traffic in various parts of the city.

Railway officials reported delays in at least 30 trains bound for Delhi or passing through the national capital on January 16 due to the foggy conditions.

The capital experienced its coldest morning of the season on Monday, recording a low of 3.3 degrees Celsius, which was four notches below the usual average temperature.

Once again, Delhi residents awoke to a brisk morning on Tuesday, with the minimum temperature at 3.5 degrees Celsius, marking a four-notch deviation from the normal temperature at 8:30 am, as per data provided by India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials.

The Palam observatory noted a morning minimum temperature of 5.8 degrees Celsius.

While Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) showed a slight improvement from the previous day, registering at 351 (‘very poor’) at 9 am according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, it remains in the ‘very poor’ category.

The AQI scale categorizes air quality as follows: 0-50 (‘good’), 51-100 (‘satisfactory’), 101-200 (‘moderate’), 201-300 (‘poor’), 301-400 (‘very poor’), and 401-500 (‘severe’).