New Delhi: Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 11.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday. This is the lowest this season so far, said the India Meteorological Department.
IMD said that normally, the Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, records a minimum of 15 to 16 degrees Celsius in the first week of November. The mercury dips to 11-12 degrees Celsius by the last week of November.
According to Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the regional forecasting centre of IMD, the absence of cloud cover was the major reason for the low minimum temperature.
Clouds trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation and radiate it back downward, warming the ground. Another reason is calm winds, which allow formation of mist and fog, Srivastava added.
There hasn’t been much snowfall in the hills, so cold winds from that region are yet to start affecting Delhi’s weather, he said
IMD said the month of October was the coolest in 58 years in the national capital. The mean minimum temperature in October this year was 17.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest since 1962, when it was 16.9 degrees Celsius, it added.