As frosty winds from the Himalayas swept through the Indo-Gangetic plains, the cold wave intensified its grip on much of north and Central India. Delhi witnessed one of its coldest days of the season on Wednesday as the minimum temperature settled at 4.4 degrees Celsius, making the city colder than Dharamsala, Nainital and Dehradun. There will not be any let up in the cold wave for the next three to four days. Dense fog and low visibility has affected road, rail and air traffic across north India. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) shared satellite images that showed a thick layer of fog over the Indo-Gangetic plains and adjoining central and eastern parts of the country. The IMD predicted dense to very dense fog in the night/morning across Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar for the next three days.
“Dense fog layer persists over Indo-Gangetic plains. It is likely to persist for the next two-three days and gradually reduce thereafter,” it said.
A giant layer of fog also enveloped north India and adjoining areas on Wednesday morning. The IMD also issued an advisory saying the dense fog conditions may affect some airports, highways and railway routes in the areas of these met- sub-divisions, difficult driving conditions with slower journey times and some road traffic collisions were also predicted. In the power sector, there are chances of tripping of power lines in the very dense fog routes.
The weather condition is expected to aggravate health issues like lung-related problems. “Dense fog contains particulate matter and other pollutants and in case of exposure to the fog it gets lodged in the lungs, clogging them and decreasing their functional capacity which increases episodes of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath,” it said. Taking note of the cold wave conditions, the UP Government has extended the winter vacation for primary schools while it changed the school timings with educational institutes slated to hold classes from 10 AM to 2 PM.
According to railway spokesperson, at least 19 trains to Delhi were delayed by one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half hours due to the foggy weather. Several flights have reported to have delayed or rescheduled at several airports. The Palam observatory at the Indira Gandhi International Airport logged a visibility level of 200 metres at 5.30 am.
'Cold day' conditions had gripped Delhi on Wednesday with the maximum temperature dropping five degrees below normal at many places in the national capital, including Lodhi Road, Palam, Jafarpur and Mayur Vihar.
The Capital’s minimum temperature was lower than that of Dharamsala (5.2 degrees), Nainital (6 degrees) and Dehradun (4.5 degrees). The Ridge observatory near Delhi University recorded a cold wave with a minimum temperature of 3.3 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the national capital on Wednesday.
The maximum temperature in the city settled at 16.5 degrees Celsius, three notches lower than the normal for this time of the year, said the IMD. Delhi’s base station, Safdurjung Observatory, recorded 100 per cent humidity in the weather at 8:30 am and 75 per cent at 5:30 pm, the IMD said.
On the other hand, according to the data released by the IMD, the observatories at, Jafarpur, Ayanagar, Najafgarh, SPS Mayur Vihar, Palam, and Lodhi Road recorded the minimum temperatures of 6.4 degrees Celsius, 4.4 degrees Celsius, 8 degrees Celsius, 6.8 degrees Celsius, 7.2 degrees Celsius and 5.7 degrees Celsius respectively.
Senior IMD Scientist RK Jenamani said that the cold wave is prevailing in the national capital and maximum temperatures are also low, leading to cold day conditions. Most places are likely to record maximum temperatures between 13 degrees and 15 degrees Celsius".
“However, there has been an improvement in Delhi's fog condition,” he said.
"Cold wave and cold day conditions are predicted to continue for the next 24 to 48 hours though there will be some improvement under the influence of a fresh Western Disturbance, which is likely to affect northwest India starting January 7," Jenamani said.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee on Wednesday advised resident welfare associations, institutions and other establishments to provide electric heaters, blankets and warm clothes to security guards to prevent open burning of biomass as a cold wave sweeps through the capital.