Delhi weather today: Mercury hits 4.3°C at Safdarjung, dense fog delays multiple flights as IMD issues yellow alert

Delhi residents woke up to dense fog, low visibility and intense cold on Saturday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for a cold wave and dense fog. Cold wave conditions persisted for the sixth consecutive day on 16 January as mercury plummeted significantly across the city as minimum temperature dropped as low as 4.3°C.

On Friday Safdarjung and Ayanagar area recorded the lowest minimum temperature, followed by Palam and Lodhi Road with each registering a reading of 4.7 degrees Celsius.

Predicting a rise in minimum temperatures by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius during next 5 days, IMD's in its weather forecast stated, “Partly cloudy sky. Moderate fog at many places with dense fog at isolated places during morning hours. The maximum and minimum temperatures in Delhi are likely to be in the ranges of 21°C to 23°C and 06°C to 08°C respectively.”

On 17 January, the minimum temperature is expected to be near normal while the maximum temperatures will be above normal by around 1.6 to 3.0 degrees Celsius.

Delhi airport issued a travel advisory at 6:00 AM that said, “Low visibility procedures are still in progress at Delhi Airport.”