Delhi continues to shiver at 9 degree Celsius after coldest day in 22 years

New Delhi, Dec 18: After recording the coldest day in 22 years on Tuesday, the maximum temperature fell further on Wednesday to 9 degrees Celsius. The Met department has said that cold weather conditions are likely to prevail as well and the temperatures will rise thereafter.

The maximum temperature on Wednesday was 18.2 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was 9 degrees Celsius, according to weather.com.

Prior to this, Delhi had recorded lowest maximum temperature at 11.2 degree Celsius on December 31, 2002.

Despite the fog and dip in temperature, the air quality improved on Tuesday with the air quality index touching 189, in the 'unhealthy' category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Meanwhile, Delhi airport has revealed its plans to deal with fog this winter which include having a 24*7 social media command centre to assist affected passengers with real time information, 139 parking stands equipped with aeronautical ground lightning (AGL) system and a dedicated senior team to deal with situations arising due to low visibility.

"At the social media command centre, we have deployed cutting-edge technology and dedicated team to monitor online conversation and provide resolution," Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO, Delhi Airport International Limited (DIAL), told reporters.

He added that as pilots have limited view from the cockpit, follow-me services -- vehicles equipped with GPS-based navigational system driven by "trained professionals" -- would be provided to facilitate aircraft movement under low visibility conditions.

Tuesday was bitingly cold in Delhi. It was so chilly that the temperature recorded at 2pm was only 1.8 degrees more than that recorded at 3am, making the day the coldest in 22 years.

The maximum temperature on Tuesday was 12.2 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was 10.4 degrees Celsius, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).