Delhi: Chill sets in – mercury falls to 10.2°C

The minimum temperature in Delhi continued its downward trend on Thursday, with the mercury falling to a season low of 10.2 degrees Celsius (°C) on the back of cold northwesterly winds nipping through the city.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) data showed that the minimum was a notch below the previous day’s low of 11.2°C, and was two degrees below normal for this time of the year.
However, the dense smog that enveloped the city for this past week gave way to bright sunshine in the afternoon, with the city recording a maximum of 27°C — marginally above the 26.8°C logged a day earlier, though nearly a degree below the normal.
The Met department said that a relatively high maximum and low minimum is typical of a sunny winter day.
“This happens when you have clear skies, there is ample sunshine which leads to a high maximum. At the same time, if the clear skies persist, the same heat is lost fairly quickly at night-time, aided by cold northwesterly winds. We have seen the intensity of fog reduce from Tuesday onwards, which is allowing this to happen at night,” said RK Jenamani, scientist at IMD.
The temperature at the Safdarjung observatory is taken as representative for Delhi, but the mercury at other parts of the city dropped even further. The coolest part of the Capital was the Ridge station in north Delhi, which recorded a low of 8.1°C. This was followed by Lodhi Road (9.2°C) and Pusa (10.1°C), while Pitampura in northwest Delhi was the warmest part of the city with a minimum of 15.2°C.
Delhi’s lowest maximum was recorded at both Mayur Vihar and Palam (24.6°C), IMD data showed.
Experts said the northwesterlies may push Friday’s low below the 10-degree threshold, before a change in winds results in a slight jump in the minimum by the weekend.
From Saturday onwards, a western disturbance will start influencing the plains, which may slow down winds and thus lead to a slight rise in minimum again,” Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet meteorology, said adding that the minimum may touch 11-12°C by Sunday.
The IMD forecast for Friday shows the maximum is likely to hover around 27°C.
This year, the onset of winter has been slow, with the Capital recording higher-than-usual day and night temperatures all through October — the warmest October since 1951, according to IMD data.
The same trend has carried forward in November, with experts blaming the unusually high temperatures to the lack of western disturbances.
“The situation has changed only this week. Dense fog initially made days cold and now that the fog is disappearing, the nights are becoming colder,” Palawat said.
Long period data shows the minimum in Delhi can dip below 10°C towards the end of November. The lowest minimum in November 2023 was 9.2°C (November 23). It was 7.3°C in 2022 (November 29), 9.2°C in 2021 (November 24) and as low as 6.3°C in 2020 (November 23).