At 3 deg Celsius, Delhi wakes up to coldest January morning in 3 years
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi recorded its coldest January morning in three years on Tuesday as the minimum temperature dropped to 3 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The capital recorded a low of 1.4 degrees Celsius on January 16, 2023, according to the weather department.
Safdarjung, the city's primary observatory, recorded a minimum temperature of 3 degrees Celsius, 4.4 notches below normal, IMD data showed.
Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, 3.3 notches below normal, and Lodhi Road recorded a minimum temperature of 3 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal.
The Ridge recorded a low of 4.4 degrees Celsius, 3.7 notches below normal, and Ayanagar recorded a low of 3.2 degrees Celsius, 3.9 notches below normal.
According to the IMD, cold wave conditions are declared when minimum temperatures fall 4.5 to 6.4 degrees below normal.
The maximum temperature for the day is expected to settle around 20 degrees Celsius. Cold wave conditions are likely to persist over Delhi on Wednesday as well, the IMD said.
Delhi's air quality deteriorated to the 'very poor' category with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 337, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
The CPCB's SAMEER app showed that 29 monitoring stations recorded air quality in the 'very poor' category, one in 'severe' and nine in 'poor'.
Anand Vihar recorded the worst air quality with an AQI of 411, falling in the 'severe' category.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
