Delhi witnesses season’s lowest temperature at…, AQI dips to ‘poor’ category; check IMD forecast here

Delhi witnesses lowest temperature of the season

Delhi recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 18.1 degrees Celsius on Thursday amid worsening air quality. Air quality was recorded to be in the ‘very poor’ category at at least six monitoring stations in the capital as the winter cold slowly began to take effect. Earlier this week, the city recorded its first drop in temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius for 2025.–26 winter seasons. But in contrast, in 2024, the temperature dropped below 20 degrees Celsius on October 12, later remaining at 18.6 degrees Celsius, and the year before that in 2023, the minimum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 18.3 degrees Celsius as early as October 3, according to weather data.

The maximum temperature on Thursday was recorded at 32.9 degrees Celsius, which is 0.3 degrees below the seasonal average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

IMD has issued a weather forecast for Friday calling for mostly clear skies; Minimum and maximum temperatures will hover around 19 and 31 degrees Celsius respectively. Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category for the third consecutive day on Thursday. According to official data, Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI (Air Quality Index) was recorded at 245, placing it firmly in the ‘poor’ category.

There are a total of 38 monitoring stations in the city, of which five reported air quality to be in the ‘very poor’ category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Anand Vihar recorded the highest AQI at 359; Just below this were Wazirpur (350), Dwarka Sector 8 (313), DU North Campus and CRRI Mathura Road (both 307) and Jahangirpuri (301).

Delhi Air Quality Early Warning System has issued a similar air quality forecast for the next few days. According to the CPCB, an AQI of 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’ and 401-500 ‘severe’.

According to data from the Decision Support System (DSS), the air quality in Delhi on Thursday, apart from low temperature, was largely due to emissions from vehicles, accounting for 18.7 per cent of the total emissions. Additionally, satellite data showed that stubble burning incidents were detected in various states: 12 in Punjab, 3 in Haryana and 132 in Uttar Pradesh.