Delhi reeled under severe cold conditions on Thursday bringing the maximum temperature down by seven notches below the season's average to settle at 12.5 degrees Celsius.
With cold conditions predicted for the coming days, the weather office has forecast that the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle around 13 and 6 degrees Celsius on Friday respectively.
Safdarjung, Delhi's main weather station, recorded a visibility of 500 meters at 8:30 am, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 7.7 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal for the season's average.
"The first ten days of January are considered the coldest, but this year it's relatively warmer compared to the previous year," said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist and head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre.
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According to the Indian Railways, 26 Delhi-bound trains were delayed by one to six hours due to fog.
The humidity levels oscillated between 88 per cent and 100 per cent on Thursday.
The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 4 pm on Thursday was 377, which stands in the "very poor" category.
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".
December 2023 was the national capital's warmest month in six years, with the city not recording a single "cold wave day" during the month, the India Meteorological Department said.
