Updated Jan 15, 2026, 10:11 AM IST: Delhi continued to experience cold wave conditions for the fifth consecutive day, with icy northwesterly winds and dense fog pushing the minimum temperature at Safdarjung to 2.9°C, about 4.5°C below normal. This is slightly warmer than Wednesday’s 3.8°C but colder than Tuesday’s 3°C.

The Palam observatory recorded a minimum of 2.3°C, the lowest in 20 years for this date. Safdarjung’s reading was the lowest since January 18, 2023 (2.6°C). Dense fog disrupted air and rail traffic, reducing visibility to 100 metres at Safdarjung and 500 metres at Palam, causing over 200 flight delays with an average departure delay of 49 minutes. Northern Railways also reported train delays.

Cold Wave Criteria:

• Minimum temperature below 10°C.
• Departure from normal temperature 4.5°C or more below average.
• Readings of 4°C or lower are classified as a cold wave.

Weather Outlook:

• Conditions are expected to ease from Friday as a feeble western disturbance approaches, raising night-time temperatures to 6-8°C, with further warming to 8-10°C by Sunday.
• A second, more active western disturbance may bring rain across the plains around Jan 22-23.

Air Quality:

• AQI remained in the “very poor” category at 349 at 9am Thursday, slightly improving from Wednesday’s 353, and is expected to stay very poor until at least Jan 23.

Private forecaster Skymet Weather noted that in the absence of cold northwesterly winds, temperatures should rise temporarily before the next disturbance.