A biting cold wave swept north and northwest India on Monday with the minimum temperature settling in the range of one to three degrees Celsius in many parts. With the frigid northwesterly winds from the Himalayas setting in over the plains, it is likely to get even colder in the region in the next two days.
The national Capital recorded its lowest temperature this season with the mercury dropping to 1.4 degrees Celsius, during the wee hours of Monday. This is also the second lowest for the month of January in the last one decade . The previous low was observed at 1.1 degrees Celsius on Jan 1, 2021.
The minimum temperature in Delhi dropped by nine notches in two days. It was 10.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 4.7 degrees Celsius on Sunday. The maximum temperature was recorded 17.8 degrees Celsius which gave much relief from the cold wave in the day. The temperature is likely to drop 1-2 degrees celsius from Tuesday on many parts of north India.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert in the national capital region for the next six days starting, Monday, owing to the upcoming severe cold wave in the national capital region. “Cold wave conditions over northwest India are likely to abate from January 19 as two western disturbances are likely to affect the western Himalayan region in quick succession,” the IMD said. The first western disturbance is likely to affect the Western Himalayan region from the night of January 18 followed by the second western disturbance from the night of January 20. Under the influence of these two systems, the IMD said, the cold wave, which is sweeping through northwest India, is likely to abate from Thursday.
As many as 13 trains were running late in the Northern Railway region due to fog on Monday morning, said the Indian Railways.
According to IMD data, the Safdarjung observatory, Delhi’s base station, saw the minimum temperature plunge to 1.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the month since January 1, 2021. It logged a minimum of 1.9 degrees Celsius on January 8 this year.
The weather station at Lodhi Road, where the IMD headquarter is located, recorded a minimum temperature of 1.6 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature plunged to 2.8 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar in southwest Delhi, two degrees Celsius at the Ridge in central Delhi and 2.2 degrees Celsius at Jafarpur in west Delhi. Delhi saw an intense cold wave spell from January 5 to January 9, the second longest in the month in a decade, according to IMD data. It has also recorded over 50 hours of dense fog this month so far, which is the highest since 2019.
Mahesh Palawat, a senior meteorologist at Skymet Weather, said the minimum temperature may dip to one degree Celsius on Tuesday. “There has been heavy snowfall in the Himalayan region due to a strong western disturbance (WD). Cold northwesterly winds started sweeping the plains after the WD retreated on January 14. The sharp dip in the temperature is due to clear skies which allowed the infrared radiation (heat from the sun) to escape back into space at night,” he said.
In the plains, a cold wave is declared if the minimum temperature dips to four degrees Celsius or when it is 10 degrees Celsius and 4.5 notches below normal. A severe cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to 2 degrees Celsius or the departure from the normal limits is by more than 6.4 notches. The IMD also warned about the increased likelihood of various illnesses like flu, running/stuffy nose or nosebleed due to the cold wave conditions in Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi for the next two days.