Bad weather and cold wave conditions gripped the national capital in the morning in Delhi. Due to this the cold weather was cold as well as the temperature dropped and cold winds also blew. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 11.4 degrees Celsius at 5.30 pm. The minimum temperature is expected to be 11 degrees Celsius while the maximum is expected to be around 18 degrees Celsius. The Meteorological Department has also predicted a generally cloudy sky with light rain in Delhi.
Due to the drop in temperature in Delhi, a night shelter was seen near Kashmere Gate and in Yamuna Bazar near AIIMS, in which all the beds were occupied. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) has also put up 235 pagoda tents to provide shelter to homeless people. Night shelters have been set up in several areas of the national capital, including AIIMS, Lodhi Road and Nizamuddin flyover. Residents of the capital gathered around bonfires to beat the cold weather, while others took shelter in night shelters as the temperature dropped.
According to the Pollution Control Board data, the air quality in the national capital remained in the 'very poor' category, as the AQI stood at 316 at 6 am. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'. Due to favourable meteorological conditions and better wind speed, Delhi's AQI is continuously improving and recorded 339 at 4:00 pm and 335 at 5:00 pm and the forecast indicates that the AQI level will go down further. Amid the rise in air pollution levels again, the CAQM had on Friday implemented stage-III restrictions under GRAP in the Delhi-NCR region. Earlier, GRAP Stage-III was lifted on December 27.