Delhi-NCR shivers as temperature plunges to 3.6°C in Lodhi Road, Gurugram; IMD issues red alert for ‘very dense fog’

Delhi weather today: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a nowcast warning for “very dense fog,” valid till 9:03 am. At the same time, a biting cold gripped the national capital, with Lodhi Road recording a minimum temperature as low as 3.6°C on Wednesday. Even in Gurugram, the mercury plunged to 3.5°C. The weather office has warned of cold wave conditions.

The red alert for fog warns against very low visibility. “Very Dense Fog is very likely to occur at many places over Central, New Delhi, North, North West, South, South West West in next 3 hours,” said IMD advisory.

Predicting dense fog conditions over northwest India in the coming days, IMD issued a cold wave alert for Delhi's neighbouring states – Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. IMD in its latest weather bulletin said, "Dense to very dense fog conditions very likely to prevail in morning/night hours in isolated/some parts over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana Chandigarh & Delhi till 16th and Dense fog in isolated pockets till 19th January 2026."

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) issued an orange alert due to extremely low visibility, around 50 metres at 6:00 am. Warning against flight disruptions, delays and cancellations, it noted that flight operations are currently under CAT III conditions.

As per the weather prediction, the minimum temperature in Delhi on 15 January is likely to remain appreciably below normal by around 3.1 to 5°C, while the maximum temperature is likely to be normal and deviate by around 1.5°C. “The maximum and minimum temperatures in Delhi are likely to be in the ranges of 21°C to 23°C and 03°C to 05°C respectively,” IMD said.

On Wednesday, the minimum temperature at Safdarjung, the primary weather monitoring station, plunged to 3.8°C while Ayanagar recorded 4°C. The Meteorological Department recorded a 4.4°C minimum temperature in the Palam area and a 4.6°C temperature at the Ridge area.

Warning against biting cold, the IMD in its press release said, “Cold wave conditions very likely in isolated pockets over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on 15th & 16th; West Uttar Pradesh & Delhi on 15th; Odisha during 15th-17th January.”