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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Parents fear uncertainty after Karnataka govt rules out age limit relaxation for Class 1 admission
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has ruled out any relaxation of the minimum age limit for admission to Class 1 beginning with the academic year 2026-27. Following the refusal, a group of parents continues to press for leniency.
Parents of children who fall under the age of six by a small margin on the cut-off date have met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior officials from the Department of School Education and Literacy to request an exemption. School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the government will not change its decision, as reported by Deccan Herald.
According to the minister, children must be six years old by June 1 to be eligible for admission to Class 1. beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. He noted that the previous relaxation was a one-time measure that was clearly confined to the 2025-26 academic year.
“If such requests are entertained every year, it will never end. While granting relaxation last year, it was explicitly stated that it applied only to one academic year. From 2026-27 onwards, the rule will be strictly implemented,” Bangarappa was quoted by DH.
Parents argue that the rigid cut-off is affecting children who are short by a few days. One parent was quoted by DH as saying that his daughter would be 12 days short of completing six years on June 1. Such parents would be forced to repeat a year despite being academically ready. Others pointed out that children promoted from LKG to UKG during the 2025-26 academic year are now facing uncertainty over their transition to Class 1.
Few parents also recalled that earlier, admissions were allowed for children aged between five years and 10 months and six years. Parents saw it as a more practical approach, with children born in November and December being disproportionately affected.
The issue of age criterion goes back to a government order issued in July 2022. The order mandated six years as the minimum age for Class 1 admission. Parents of children already enrolled in pre-primary classes, protested against the order and the state deferred implementation, announcing that the rule would come into force from the 2025-26 academic year.
After renewed pressure, the government granted a one-year relaxation for 2025-26, citing the large number of students affected and in consultation with the State Education Policy Commission. While announcing the exemption, the minister had stated that no further concessions would be allowed.
