Delhi-NCR wakes up to chilly morning, coldest October day recorded in 75 years on Friday

New Delhi: Delhi-NCR residents woke up to a chilly Saturday morning, with the air quality remaining in the 'moderate' category following an unusually wet and cold end to October.

Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 110 at 8 a.m., placing the overall air quality in the 'moderate' category.

Air quality readings varied across monitoring stations in the national Capital. Burari recorded an AQI of 65, while Vasundhara Enclave stood at 101. Uttam Nagar recorded an AQI of 92, Ghoga 46, NIH Narela 76 and Punjabi Bagh 176.

Other areas included Shadipur at 131, Sirifort at 116, Chandni Chowk at 128, Burari Crossing at 89 and R.K. Puram at 118. The AQI at ITO stood at 128, while Anand Vihar recorded 110, Mundka 143, Jahangirpuri 188, Vivek Vihar 141, Rohini 147 and Bawana 142.

The chilly conditions follow an unusual spell of rain and a sharp fall in temperatures on Friday, when residents reached for windbreakers and shawls as wintry conditions gripped the capital.

Delhi recorded its lowest October day temperature in 75 years, with the maximum temperature plunging to 20.7 degrees Celsius amid two days of persistent rainfall.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature at Safdarjung, the city's base weather station, was 10.3 degrees below normal. Available data showed that it was the lowest maximum temperature recorded at the station in October since 1951.

Dark clouds continued to hang over the capital, while intermittent spells of rain kept temperatures unusually low. Shallow fog during the early morning and late evening hours further added to the wintry feel.

Friday also emerged as the wettest October day in four years and the sixth-wettest since 1951. Delhi's AQI stood at 60 on Friday, making it the cleanest October day since October 10, 2022, when the AQI was recorded at 44.

The city also recorded its wettest October in four years, with cumulative rainfall at Safdarjung reaching 123.3 mm till 8.30 a.m. on Friday, against the monthly normal of 15.1 mm.

Relative humidity remained high, with both morning and evening readings settling at 100 per cent, according to the IMD.

Meanwhile, Delhi recorded its cleanest October air in more than a decade, with the average AQI for the month settling at 167, the lowest October average since 2015, according to an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

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