Delhiites brace for cold wave in run-up to New Year

New Delhi: A cold wave is likely to grip parts of Delhi over the next four days as frosty winds from the Himalayas have started blowing towards the plains, weather department officials said on Monday.

The minimum and maximum temperatures in the national capital settled at 5.6 degrees Celsius and 20.9 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The Ayanagar and Jafarpur weather stations recorded a minimum of 4 degrees Celsius and 4.7 degrees Celsius, respectively, they said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the mercury may drop to three degrees Celsius on New Year's Eve.

Cold wave conditions are predicted in parts of the city over the next four days, it said.

"Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions are likely in isolated pockets over Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and north Rajasthan. Ground frost and dense fog is likely in isolated pockets in the region," the IMD added.

For the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and is 4.5 notches less than normal. A "severe" cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to two degrees Celsius or the departure is more than 6.4 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, Delhi's air quality improved slightly on Monday due to favourable wind speed, weather department officials said.

The city's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was 253 on Monday. It was 396 on Sunday, 337 on Saturday, 357 on Friday, 423 on Thursday, 433 on Wednesday and 418 on Tuesday.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

Officials at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said favourable wind speed, up to 15 kmph, aided in the dispersion of pollutants.

"Water droplets suspended in the air and made pollutants heavier which do not get dispersed easily even with a moderate wind speed, an IMD official said.

The average air quality also improved drastically to reach "poor" level from "severe" in Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Gurgaon, according to a 24-hour data issued by a government agency.