New Delhi Jan 28 PTI Delhi on Friday morning recorded a minimum temperature of 64 degrees Celsius three notches below normal and according the weather department a bright and sunny day is expected ahead The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 19 degrees CelsiusThe maximum temperature is forecast to increase to 20 to 21 degrees Celsius and the minimum may rise to 10 to 11 degrees Celsius over the next few days The capital had been recording below normal maximum temperatures since the second week of January Minimum temperatures have been close to or above normalThere have been seven western disturbances in Delhi this January as against a normal of three to four in the monthRains due to the western disturbances increased moisture in the air which led to foggy conditions amid low temperatures on most daysAccording to the India Meteorological Department Delhi recorded very low sunshine between January 7 and January 25 The IMD data showed Delhi has recorded seven cold days in January so far the highest in the month in at least a decadeSenior IMD scientist R K Jenamani said Delhi has recorded a maximum temperature of less than 17 degrees Celsius on 13 days this month the highest since 2003 which had seen 18 such daysDelhi had seen the coldest January day in nine years on Tuesday with the maximum temperature plunging 10 notches below the normal and settling at 121 degrees Celsius Before this January 3 2013 had experienced a maximum temperature of 98 degrees Celsius according to India Meteorological Department IMD dataThe capital also recorded 822 mm of rainfall this January the highest in the month in 122 years PTI GVS TIR TIR

New Delhi Nov 24 PTI Delhis air quality slipped into the very poor category on Wednesday as low temperatures and slow surface winds allowed the accumulation of pollutantsThe citys 24-hour average air quality index AQI was 361According to India Meteorological Department Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 92 degrees Celsius this seasons lowest so far The maximum temperature settled at 288 degrees Celsius Strong winds on Sunday and Monday had led to an improvement in the air qualityThe 24-hour average AQI read 290 on Tuesdaythe second-best AQI reading this month since November 1 when it was 281 Delhi has seen very poor or severe air quality on the rest of the daysNeighbouring Faridabad 367 Ghaziabad 366 Greater Noida 312 Gurgaon 305 and Noida 325 also saw a dip in air quality on WednesdayAn AQI between zero 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 severeThe Ministry of Earth Sciences air quality monitor SAFAR said slow local surface winds will reduce dispersion of pollutants over the next three days leading to deterioration in air qualityA slight improvement is likely from November 27 with an increase in local surface wind speedWith the onset of winter local weather is likely to be the dominating factor in determining air quality SAFAR saidEven as the air quality turned very poor again the Delhi government on Wednesday decided to resume physical classes in schools colleges and other educational institutions and reopen government offices from November 29The ban on the entry of trucks barring those engaged in essential services will continue till December 3 However CNG and electric trucks will be allowed to enter Delhi from November 27 Environment Minister Gopal Rai said after a meeting to review curbs to tackle air pollutionOn November 13 the city government had ordered the closure of all educational institutes banned construction and demolition activities and asked its employees to work from home to combat air pollution and minimise its health effectsFour days later it extended the restrictions besides banning the entry of trucks carrying non-essential items in Delhi The ban on construction and demolition activities was lifted on Monday in view of an improvement in the air quality and inconvenience caused to workers PTI GVS NSD