New Delhi: Delhi woke up to its coldest January morning in three years on Tuesday as the minimum temperature plunged to 3 degrees Celsius, with the India Meteorological Department warning that cold wave conditions are likely to persist across large parts of north India over the next few days.
At Safdarjung, the city’s primary weather observatory, the mercury dipped 4.4 degrees below normal. Palam recorded a low of 4 degrees Celsius, while Lodhi Road touched 3 degrees. The Ridge logged 4.4 degrees and Ayanagar 3.2 degrees, all significantly below seasonal averages. The IMD defines a cold wave when minimum temperatures fall between 4.5 and 6.4 degrees below normal.
The chill is part of a broader cold spell sweeping across north and central India. The weather department has forecast cold wave to severe cold wave conditions over Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha for the next two to three days. A red warning has been issued for Punjab and Haryana, with the IMD cautioning that dense to very dense fog is also likely in these regions.
In neighbouring states, temperatures have dropped to near-freezing levels. Parts of Gurugram’s outskirts recorded sub-zero readings, while Fatehpur Shekawati in Rajasthan touched minus 3.5 degrees Celsius earlier this week. Such temperatures are uncommon in the plains of northwest India, though not unprecedented.
Meteorologists attribute the prolonged cold to a combination of global and regional factors. Researcher Debashish Jena noted that this winter has seen persistently below-normal minimum temperatures across north, central and eastern India, driven by La Niña conditions, frequent western disturbances, and strong inflows of cold air from higher latitudes.
“The anomaly was driven by La Niña–induced strengthening of the Walker and Hadley circulations, intensification and southward shift of the subtropical westerly jet, frequent western disturbances, enhanced strong cold air advection from higher latitudes, and post-disturbance clear-sky radiative cooling leading to prolonged cold nights and cold wave conditions,” Jena wrote on X.
In Delhi, the cold has been accompanied by deteriorating air quality. The city’s Air Quality Index stood at 337, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board showed that 29 monitoring stations reported ‘very poor’ air, with Anand Vihar slipping into the ‘severe’ range at 411. Only a handful of stations remained in the ‘poor’ bracket.
The maximum temperature in the capital is expected to hover around 20 degrees Celsius, but officials say cold wave conditions are likely to continue at least through Wednesday. With icy mornings, dense fog and worsening air quality, authorities have urged residents to take precautions, especially the elderly, children and those with respiratory ailments.
