Delhi reels under biting cold with heavy snowfall in neighbouring states, AQI at 215

With heavy snowfall in neighbouring states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Delhi on Friday continued to reel under bone-chilling conditions, with the minimum temperature recorded at 7.4 degrees Celsius.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature was recorded at 17 degrees Celsius with dense fog.

Besides Delhi, cold wave conditions persisted in a few pockets with severe cold wave conditions very likely in isolated pockets over Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh.

According to SAFAR, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi docked at 215, which falls in the 'poor' category.

"It feels very cold today. The city is surrounded by a blanket of fog which has lowered visibility. As cyclists, we have to come out and ride a bicycle even in chilly winter," a cyclist told ANI.

"We are fortunate to have access to all facilities. But we are worried about the poor living on the streets. For them, it is very hard to survive in such weather. The government should work to ensure that the homeless are not inconvenienced," said another cyclist.

According to Skymet, north winds are cold due to successive Western Disturbances which have approached the Western Himalayas leading to variation in the wind direction.

Another Western Disturbance will approach the Western Himalayas by January 11 and from January 12, the wind direction will once again change from northerly to southeasterly leading to an increase in minimum temperature once again, it said.

The IMD in its bulletin said that cold day conditions in isolated pockets is very likely over Bihar and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.

"Dense to very dense fog very likely in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and West Uttar Pradesh, dense fog in a few pockets over Bihar and in isolated pockets over Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Odisha," the weather agency said.

Ground frost in isolated pockets is very likely over Punjab and northwest Rajasthan, according to IMD.