Delhi's winter rollercoaster: Mercury likely to plunge after Sunday’s brief warmth

NEW DELHI: The city saw the minimum temperature rise on Sunday but the hope of warmth could be short lived, weather analysts have said.

The minimum temperature in Delhi rose to 13 degrees Celsius. However, in the next couple of days, the city could see the mercury dropping sharply, by as much as 6 degrees, if the weather plays true to the forecast.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted this steep drop in minimum temperature by Dec 31, on Tuesday.

On Sunday, the maximum temperature was 18 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, against 15.8 degrees Celsius a day earlier.

The minimum temperature was 13 degrees, six notches above normal, and slightly higher than 12.7 degrees Celsius a day earlier.

Weather analysts said that due to strong north-westerly winds, which had reached up to 12kmph on Sunday, the minimum temperature is set to fall.

IMD has thus forecast the minimum temperature to hover around 9 degrees Celsius on Monday and 7 degrees on Tuesday, which is New Year's eve.

The IMD has also issued a yellow alert for dense to very dense fog on Monday, while a yellow alert has been issued for dense and moderate fog on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

On Sunday, the Palam area saw moderate fog with a visibility of 350m at 9am, while Safdarjung saw shallow fog.

The city's air quality index (AQI) showed poor-range readings. It is expected to remain that way for the next few days.

The AQI at 11am on Sunday was 230, which became 228 by 3pm. The average air quality index (AQI) was 225 or "poor".

A day earlier it was 139, which falls in the moderate on the AQI scale.

According to Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology's (IITM) advance air quality forecast, the AQI is likely to turn very poor on Monday and Tuesday.

Predominant surface winds are likely from the northwest direction with a speed of less than 12kmph during morning hours, IITM has added in its prediction.

The wind speed will decrease thereafter, becoming less than 10kmph during the afternoon, evening and night.

Smog or dense fog is expected in most places and very dense fog may been seen in isolated places in the morning, IITM has added.

The city will see mainly a clear sky and smog or shallow fog in the evening and night on Dec 30, it added.