As the rain subsides, Delhi and its neighbouring regions are bracing for a significant shift in weather patterns, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting dense fog and cold wave conditions over the next few days. This weather change is expected to persist during the New Year celebrations, making the upcoming period chilly and foggy.
On Sunday, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 18 degrees Celsius, two degrees lower than the usual temperature for this time of year. The minimum temperature was 13 degrees Celsius, which is six degrees above the season’s average. According to the IMD’s forecast, Monday will bring very dense fog, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to be around 18 and 6 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The air quality in Delhi has also deteriorated. The city’s 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 225, falling into the 'poor' category by 4 PM on Sunday. In comparison, Saturday saw the city’s AQI in the 'moderate' category.
The three major monitoring stations, namely Anand Vihar, Sirifort, and Vivek Vihar, have reported the AQI in the range of more than 300 within the 'very poor' category. All other stations have recorded 'moderate' and 'poor' AQI levels, as updated on the Sameer App. For the sake of clarity, 0-50 levels in the AQI context mean 'good'; 51-100 is 'satisfactory'; 101-200 is 'moderate'; 201-300 is 'poor'; 301-400 is 'very poor'; and 401-500 is 'severe'.
The humidity varied between 96 and 91 per cent throughout the day in Delhi. The IMD directed warnings to several other states and has anticipated isolated very dense fogs over Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, with the forecast of dense fog in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura during the night and early morning hours.
Further, cold day conditions would remain in isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. All residents of Delhi and neighbouring states must continue taking precautions as they have during the previous "cold spell" and guard themselves against the poor visibility that is most impacted by the presence of dense fog, especially while travelling during the morning and evening hours.
