NEW DELHI: Icy northwesterly winds chilled the capital to the bone on Saturday, ushering in peak winter conditions days ahead of Christmas.
The biting cold and gusty winds sent the maximum temperature plummeting to 17.8 degrees Celsius as Delhi recorded its first "cold day" of the season.
The met department said similar conditions are likely over the next two days, with "cold day" conditions at a few places on Sunday and "cold waves" at isolated places on Sunday and Monday. The department declares "cold day" conditions when the maximum temperature falls below 20 degrees Celsius and is 4.5 degrees or more below normal. A "cold wave" takes place when the minimum temperature is either less than 4 degrees Celsius or is lower than normal by at least 4 degrees C.
While the maximum temperature at Safdarjung was 5 below normal, the minimum too dropped to 6 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal. Elsewhere in the city, the night temperature touched 5 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar and Ridge, and 5.7 degrees at Lodhi Road.
The lowest maximum on Saturday was 16.2 degrees recorded at SPS Mayur Vihar, followed by Palam at 16.4 degrees Celsius.
Winds strong, AQI to stay 'poor' for now
Strong and chilly westerly winds from north Rajasthan, which was been witnessing cold wave conditions for the past 48 hours, led to 'cold day' in the city," said R K Jenamani, senior scientist at the India Meteorological Department.
He said very strong and dry northwesterlies prevailed on Saturday in Delhi and NCR and, with winds blowing at 10-20 kmph during the first half of the day, which increased to 25 kmph, and gusting to 40 kmph, during the afternoon. "Such strong winds are likely on Sunday afternoon as well but may weaken on December 20. Normal winds are expected on December 21 afternoon," said Jenamani.
The met department said shallow to moderate fog was observed during 2am to 8.30am at IGI Airport with lowest visibility touched the range of 200-400m during the same period. The city saw shallow fog as the visibility remained between 600-800m till 10 am. "The afternoon visibility in the city reached 1800-2000m with less smog due to the strong and dry winds in the afternoon. Stronger winds and low moisture over Delhi do not favour dense fog formation," said Jenamani.
Meanwhile, the winds helped improve Delhi's air quality index (AQI). The overall AQI was 291 on Saturday in 'poor' category as against 329 in 'very poor' category on Friday. The air quality is likely to remain in the 'poor' category on Sunday and Monday.
