Delhi shivers, experiences coldest Nov day

Delhi experienced its coldest November day so far this season on Sunday with the maximum temperature dropping to 24.3°C, 17 degrees below normal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday. This marks the season’s lowest maximum temperature, while the second-lowest was 25°C.

The Meteorological Department said last year, the lowest maximum temperature for November was 23.5°C, recorded on November 18.

In a rare respite for the Capital, the air quality improved to the ‘poor’ category after 24 consecutive days of ‘very poor’ air and often touching the ‘severe’ category.

The 24-hour average AQI at 4 pm stood at 279, down from 305 on Saturday and significantly better than 369 on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. The city last breathed ‘poor’ air on November 5, when the AQI was recorded at 202. Since then, November has seen three ‘poor’ days, 24 ‘very poor’ days and three ‘severe’ days, with no station reporting ‘severe’ pollution on either Saturday or Sunday, unlike eight stations on Friday.

Meteorologists attribute the improvement to stronger winds. “With wind speeds likely to stay relatively high, the AQI is not expected to slip back into the ‘severe’ category for at least next two days,” said Mahesh Palawat, Vice-President (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet Weather.