At 3°C, Delhi wakes up to coldest January morning in 3 years

Delhi recorded its coldest January morning in three years on Tuesday (January 13, 2026) as the minimum temperature dropped to 3°C, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The capital recorded a low of 1.4°C on January 16, 2023, according to the weather department.

Safdarjung, the city’s primary observatory, recorded a minimum temperature of 3°C, 4.4 notches below normal, IMD data showed.

Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 4°C, 3.3 notches below normal, and Lodhi Road recorded a minimum temperature of 3°C, three notches below normal.

The Ridge recorded a low of 4.4°C, 3.7 notches below normal, and Ayanagar recorded a low of 3.2°C, 3.9 notches below normal.

According to the IMD, cold wave conditions are declared when minimum temperatures fall 4.5 to 6.4 degrees below normal.

The maximum temperature for the day is expected to settle around 20°C. Cold wave conditions are likely to persist over Delhi on Wednesday (January 14) as well, the IMD said.

Delhi’s air quality deteriorated to the ‘very poor’ category with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 337, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

The CPCB’s SAMEER app showed that 29 monitoring stations recorded air quality in the ‘very poor’ category, one in ‘severe’ and nine in ‘poor’.

Anand Vihar recorded the worst air quality with an AQI of 411, falling in the ‘severe’ category.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.