Delhi's minimum temperature at 8.3 degrees Celsius

Pic/PTI

Delhiites on Wednesday woke up to a slight respite from biting cold as Delhi's minimum temperature was at 8.3 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average, according to the weather office, reported news agency PTI.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi's minimum temperature was recorded at 8.3 degrees Celsius. The recorded minimum temperature in Delhi on Tuesday morning was 6.9 degrees Celsius.

Delhi has experienced five cold days and five cold wave days in January so far, the highest in the past 13 years, according to India Meteorological Department data, reported PTI.

The city witnessed mainly clear skies with moderate fog, according to the IMD.

The visibility improved at various observatories in Delhi late night on Tuesday, with Safdarjung recording a visibility of 500 metres and Palam recording 700 metres at 11.45 pm.

Delhi's IGI Airport reported a visibility of 600 metres from 5.30 am.

Delhi airport is experiencing heavy delays in flight operations due to dense fog and bad weather. 22 international departures are delayed, 20 international arrivals delayed, 31 domestic arrivals, and 46 domestic departures, said an official from Airport Delhi, reported ANI.

Twenty-four Delhi-bound trains were delayed by one to six hours due to fog in parts of northern India, according to the Indian Railways.

Around 24 long-distance trains to Delhi were also running behind schedule by up to five hours or more due to fog. The Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express (22823) is delayed by 6 hours and 30 minutes, according to Indian Railway, reported ANI.

The Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express (12801), Rewa-Anand Vihar Express (12427), and Azamgarh-Delhi Jn Kaifiyat Express (12225) are all delayed by over 6 hours, reported ANI.

Several other trains, including the Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express (12301), Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi Rajdhani Exp (12309), Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani (12313), Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Exp (12423), Bangalore-Nizamuddin Rajdhani Exp (22691), Kanpur-New Delhi Shaurajkranti Exp (12451), Katihar-Amritsar Express (15707), Saharsa-New Delhi Vaishali Express (12553), Prayagraj-New Delhi Express (12417), Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi Exp (12393), Banaras-New Delhi Express (12559), Ambedkarnagar-Katara Express (12919), Chennai-New Delhi Express (12615 and 12621), Hyderabad-New Delhi Express (12723), Kamakhya-Delhi Jn Brahmaputra Mail (15658), and Manikpur-Nizamuddin Express (12447) are delayed by between 1 and 4 hours, said Railway, reported ANI.

The Jabalpur-Nizamuddin Express (12192) is delayed by 30 minutes, reported ANI.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city continued to remain in the "very poor" category. The AQI at 9 am was recorded at 392 in the national capital, which was a marginal increase from 376 recorded on Tuesday.

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'.
The relative humidity at 8.30 am was at 97 per cent, the IMD said.

(With inputs from ANI)