Overview
- Kashmir recorded the season’s coldest nights, freezing the fringes of Dal Lake, with Sonamarg at −9.8°C, Gulmarg at −9.2°C, Pahalgam at −8.6°C and Srinagar at −5.1°C.
- Delhi logged a minimum of 5.8°C at Safdarjung, with Palam at 4.8°C, and dense morning fog briefly cut visibility to 100 metres at the airport.
- Forecasts call for further night-time cooling in the valley until January 10 and largely dry, cloudy weather there through January 20, with a yellow fog alert issued for the plains on Friday.
- The capital’s air quality stood in the ‘poor’ band at an AQI of 276, with models indicating a temporary slide to ‘very poor’ on January 9 before returning to ‘poor’ thereafter.
- Wider northern states also reeled under the cold, with Himachal’s Kukumseri at −11.2°C and Tabo at −8.9°C, while officials cited cold, dry north-westerly winds for persistent fog and chill.