Mercury Dips To 9.6 Degrees Celsius in Delhi, AQI Remains Poor at 320

New Delhi: With the mercury dipping to as low as 9.6 degrees Celcius on Monday, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital remained poor at 320. The cold weather conditions that persisted, parts of the capital received light rainfall.

Besides, the night temperature rose by several degrees across Kashmir following overnight snowfall though the mercury remained below the freezing point in the Valley, officials said.

Light rain and snowfall occurred at a few places in tribal areas and higher hills of Himachal Pradesh as the mercury dropped by four to seven degrees. Similarly, Punjab and Haryana continued to feel the winter chill on Monday with fog shrouding a few places in the two states in the early morning hours.

In Delhi, the mercury settled at a low of 9.6 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature was 16.9 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The fog cover over the capital thinned out though after three days, improving morning visibility.

Najafgarh recorded 2.5 mm of rainfall, Pitampura 2 mm, Palam 1 mm and Pusa 0.5 mm between 5.30 am and 8.30 am, IMD data showed.

The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded a minimum temperature of 9.6 degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 16.9 degrees Celsius on Monday, the IMD said.

At 5.30 am, the visibility at Safdarjung and Palam was 300 metres, it said.

Dense fog in the capital reduced morning visibility to zero on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, leading to flight cancellations and diversions, and trains being delayed.

On Saturday, there was zero visibility for an unprecedented nine hours.

The weather office has predicted a mainly clear sky for Tuesday, with the predominant surface wind likely to blow from the northwest at speeds below 6 kmph in the morning.

Smog and moderate fog are expected in most places, with dense fog at isolated spots during the morning hours, the department added.

In Kashmir, the night temperatures across the Valley rose by several degrees following overnight snowfall, but the mercury remained below the freezing point.

The minimum temperature in Srinagar settled at minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, two degrees above the previous night's minus 2.5 degrees, the weather office said.

Gulmarg, a tourist resort town known for skiing activities in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius, unchanged from the previous night, it said.

In Pahalgam, one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, the minimum temperature rose to minus 1.4 degrees Celsius from minus 3.2 degrees the night before, the weather office said. Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, logged a low of zero degrees Celsius, while Konibal in Pampore town registered a minimum temperature of minus 1 degree, it added.

Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 0.3 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag in south Kashmir saw the mercury settle at minus 0.4 degrees Celsius -- a sharp rise from the previous night's minus 8.1 degree Celsius, the weather office said.

Meanwhile, cold conditions continued to prevail at several places in Punjab and Haryana on Monday.

Ballowal Saunkhri in Punjab's Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district was the coldest at 6.6 degrees Celsius, the Met office said.

Among other places in Punjab, Amritsar recorded a low of 7.9 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal.

The minimum temperature in Ludhiana was recorded at 8.6 degrees Celsius, Patiala at 8.4 degrees, Pathankot at 9.3 degrees, Bathinda at 7.4 degrees and Gurdaspur at 8 degrees Celsius.

In Haryana, Ambala recorded a low of 9.9 degrees Celsius, Hisar 9.4 degrees, Karnal 8.5 degrees, Narnaul 7.5 degrees, Bhiwani 10 degrees and Sirsa 12 degrees.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, registered a low of 9.8 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal.

The fog was also observed at some places in the two states.

In Himachal Pradesh, Hansa in Lahaul and Spiti recorded 5 mm rain while Keylong and Hansa had traces of snow.

The minimum temperatures dropped by three to seven degrees during the past 24 hours and Keylong was the coldest in the region with a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius. Shimla, Manali and Dharamshala recorded night temperatures at 5.0 degrees, 5.9 degrees and 6.5 degrees Celsius respectively.

Shimla witnessed light showers under an overcast sky. (with PTI inputs)