Delhi recorded the season's lowest minimum temperature of 4.6°C on Friday, accompanied by surprise rain in the national capital and nearby areas like Noida and Gurugram. Dense fog persisted, intensifying the chill.
Delhi-NCR faced harsh winter conditions on January 9, 2026, as the city recorded a minimum temperature of 4.6°C, the lowest of the season. This followed Thursday's 5.8°C, the third lowest, recorded at Safdarjung station, 1.1 degrees below normal.
Parts of Noida, Delhi, and Gurugram saw rain on Friday morning, making the cold wave even tougher. Despite the rain, a thick layer of fog enveloped the region. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for Friday, predicting mainly clear skies but moderate to dense fog in some places during the morning. The maximum temperature is expected to hover between 16-18°C, with the minimum likely falling to 5-7°C.
IMD warned of light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning in Haryana early on January 9, and light rain in Delhi spots including Preet Vihar, ITO, India Gate, Akshardham, and Safdarjung.
Delhi marked its first cold day of 2026 on January 6, with a minimum of 7.6°C, 0.7 degrees below normal. On January 7, the maximum was 16.7°C (2.3 degrees below) and minimum 8.6°C (1.7 degrees below). According to IMD, a cold day occurs when the minimum falls below 10°C or the maximum is 4.5-6.4 degrees below normal.
Amateur weatherman Navdeep Dahiya told HT that the marginal rise in maximum temperatures was due to a fog hole over Delhi-NCR. Visibility at Palam dipped to 100 meters on Thursday due to dense fog. IMD forecasts intensifying winter chill across northern India until January 15.