Cold wave, dense fog and severe pollution grip Delhi; Kashmir freezes

Delhi witnessed an extremely cold morning on Tuesday with a sharp fall in temperature and dense fog spread across many parts of the city.

The minimum temperature fell to around 4 degrees Celsius, making it one of the coldest mornings of the season. A cold wave continued to affect the national capital, causing harsh cold weather for residents, especially during early morning hours.

Air pollution remains a major concern

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Not only the cold weather, air pollution too remained a major concern in the national capital.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded (337) at 8 am, which falls under the 'very poor' category.

This level of pollution can cause breathing problems, especially for children, the elderly, and people with existing health issues.

Several areas across the city reported AQI levels above 300, indicating unhealthy air. Anand Vihar recorded one of the highest pollution levels as usual with an AQI of (411), placing it under “severe” category.

AQI of ther areas: Nehru Nagar (358), Jahangirpuri (357), RK Puram (365), Patparganj (366), Wazirpur (375), Vivek Vihar (366), Siri Fort (342), Rohini (397), Chandni Chowk (380) and Dwarka Sector 8 (384) also continued to experience very poor air quality.

AQI scale determines that the ranges of 0–50 are rated as good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor, and 401–500 severe. The majority of Delhi's regions were in the very poor to severe category, thereby indicating that pollution was still a major issue.

IMD reports severe cold conditions

The frigid weather was the result of an extremely cold day prior. The lowest temperature in the city on Monday was registered at 2.9 degrees Celsius in Ayanagar, as per the report by India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The temperatures in the entire Delhi reported such a low degree once again on Sunday night, around 3 degrees Celsius, this time for the cold wave conditions which were experienced.

According to the Meteorological (MeT) Department, the weather will remain partly to mostly cloudy till the 18th and 19th of January.

On 20th January, the weather will still be mostly cloudy, and light rain or snowfall can be expected in some areas. From the 21st to the 23rd January, the weather is expected to be partly to mostly cloudy, with the possibility of light rain or snow in scattered areas.

In the case of January 24 to January 25, Union Territory is expected to have partly cloudy weather. The MeT Department has also stated that the rise in minimum temperatures will be gradual, but it is going to be foggy, especially in the Jammu division, and there will be scattered instances of dense fog over the next five days.

Kashmir continues to reel under extreme cold

Kashmir, on the other hand, is still facing extreme cold weather. The Valley, despite being partially covered by clouds, is predominantly cold and dry till January 25, which is a very uncomfortable situation for the population.

The unbroken cold and dry weather has amplified winter frost in the entire area, causing nights to be very cold and most of the locations experiencing temperatures much lower than normal.