Delhi wakes to fog and chill as temperatures dip below normal

Delhi woke up to a blanket of fog and an unseasonal chill on Saturday, as the minimum temperature dropped to 13°C—around 3.5 degrees below the seasonal average—accompanied by brisk winds across the city.

The cooler start marked a notable dip from Friday, when the minimum temperature had settled at 16°C. Despite the foggy conditions, air quality remained relatively clean, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 94 at 8am, placing it in the ‘satisfactory’ category.

The improvement in air quality follows rainfall on Friday, which significantly cleared pollutants from the atmosphere. The city registered an AQI of 93, its first ‘satisfactory’ reading in nearly five months. The last comparable instance was on 9 October 2025, when the AQI stood at 99.

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System, conditions are expected to remain in the ‘moderate’ category over the coming days, until at least 23 March.

Under Central Pollution Control Board guidelines, AQI levels between 51 and 100 are classified as ‘satisfactory’, while readings between 101 and 200 fall into the ‘moderate’ bracket.

The India Meteorological Department has forecast a maximum temperature of around 27°C for Saturday. No rainfall was recorded in the morning, in contrast to Friday, when the city received 7 mm of precipitation.

Rainfall this month has already exceeded typical levels, making it the wettest March since 2023. The city’s average rainfall for March stands at 16.2 mm, significantly lower than this year’s accumulation so far.

Weather officials have indicated that very light rain could return on Monday, with the possibility of thunderstorms and lightning due to an active western disturbance affecting the region.

On Friday, the Safdarjung observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 21.7°C—nearly 10 degrees below normal—making it the coldest March day in the capital since 8 March 2020.

With PTI inputs