Delhi continued to face harsh winter conditions on Friday as the city&rsquo;s air quality stayed locked in the &ldquo;very poor&rdquo; category. The minimum temperature dipped to 5.6&deg;C, which is four degrees below normal and remains the lowest of the season for the second consecutive day.
Cold wave conditions are likely to persist across parts of northwest India until December 5, driven by icy northwesterly winds blowing from the snow-covered mountains into the plains.
The city has been consistently recording sharp drops in temperature. Delhi logged 5.6&deg;C on Thursday and 6.4&deg;C on Wednesday. Earlier, the minimum of 5.7&deg;C on December 1 marked the coldest start to December since 2011. In comparison, last year&rsquo;s lowest minimum until this period was 8&deg;C on November 26. The corresponding numbers stood at 9.5&deg;C in 2023 and 7.6&deg;C in 2022.
At 8 am on Friday, Delhi recorded an AQI of 323, up from 304 on Thursday evening, keeping the city firmly in the &ldquo;very poor&rdquo; bracket. Forecasts suggest that the air quality is unlikely to improve before December 7.

Cold wave drags temperatures down while Delhi’s air quality remains very poor

Delhi Shivers as Air Quality Stays Very Poor

Cold wave drags temperatures down while Delhi’s air quality remains very poor

December 5, 2025 | 09:53 IST