Delhi and neighbouring plains shivered under a “severe” cold on Tuesady and battled a dense to very dense fog swept over them as the Met department predicted the conditions to persist over the next few days.
A severe cold wave gripped the region with the maximum temperature plummeting 10 degrees below normal in Delhi.
Meteorologists attributed the sharp drop in day temperatures to frigid northwesterly winds barrelling through the plains and reduced sunshine due to foggy weather.
"Cold Day/Severe Cold Day Conditions very likely in some parts over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and West Rajasthan and cold day conditions in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand on 26th and 27th December 2022," the IMD had said in a bulletin at 3.30 pm on Monday, reports NDTV.
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"Dense to Very Dense Fog very likely to continue over some parts of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi and West Rajasthan during the next 48 hours," the IMD said.
Delhi
Dense fog blotted out the sun in northwest India, including Delhi, on Tuesday morning, lowering visibility to just 50 metres in the national capital and affecting road traffic and train movement. The capital shivered under a "severe" cold day on Monday, with the maximum temperature dropping 10 notches below normal at some places.
Fifteen trains to and from Delhi were reported running late, while two were rescheduled, a Railways spokesperson said.
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With a high windchill factor – a measure of the rate of heat loss from skin that is exposed to the air – in play, the weather office has predicted a cold day ahead.
On Monday, the mercury dropped to 3 degrees Celsius in the Ridge area, 4.9 degrees below normal, making it the coldest place in the national capital.
The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded a maximum temperature of 15.6 degrees Celsius on Monday, six notches below normal and the lowest day temperature in December since December 17, 2020. On Tuesday, Safdarjung logged a minimum temperature of 5.6 degrees Celsius -- a notch below normal. The maximum temperature is predicted to settle around 16 degrees Celsius.
Meteorologists attributed the sharp drop in day temperatures to frigid north westerly winds barrelling through the plains and reduced sunshine due to foggy weather.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather, said a western disturbance led to a fresh spell of snowfall in the mountains on December 25-26 and cold northwesterly winds are now sweeping through the plains after its retreat.
"An increase in the humidity levels due to the WD resulted in dense to very dense fog which reduced the sunshine, pulling down the day temperature further," he said. Palawat said the wind chill factor -- a measure of the rate of heat loss from skin that is exposed to the air -- is also high.
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The higher the wind speed during cold weather, the colder it feels on the skin if a person is outside. Delhi clocked a top wind speed of 15 kilometres per hour on Monday.
Rajasthan
Severe cold conditions prevailed in Rajasthan on Tuesday and Churu recorded the lowest minimum temperature in the state at 0.5 degree Celsius.
The night temperature in Sikar was recorded at 1.5 degrees Celsius, Pilani 1.9 degrees Celsius, Nagaur 2.8 degrees Celsius, Vanasthali (Tonk) 3.6 degrees Celsius, Bhilwara 3.8 degrees Celsius, Sangaria (Hanumangarh) 3.9 degrees Celsius, Karali 4.2 degrees Celsius, Sirohi 4.6 degrees Celsius, Chittorgarh 4.7 degrees Celsius and Sriganganagar 4.8 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological department.
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According to the weather office, there is a possibility of a slight increase in the minimum and the maximum temperatures from December 28.
Dense fog is also likely to reduce in the state from Wednesday, officials said.
A new round of cold wave is expected in the first week of January, they added.
Jammu and Kashmir
The minimum temperature in Kashmir rose by a couple of degrees but stayed below the freezing point offering little respite from cold conditions, officials said on Monday.
The valley is going through a dry spell with no major precipitation forecast till the end of December. However, there is a possibility of a brief wet spell this week, the MET department said.
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The minimum temperature on Sunday night rose two to three degrees from the previous night but stayed below the freezing point.
The intense cold conditions led to freezing of water supply lines in many areas as well as the freezing of the interiors of the Dal Lake, they said.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar settled at minus 3.5 degrees Celsius -- up from minus 5.8 degrees Celsius on Saturday night, the officials said.
Punjab and Haryana
Fog shrouded many parts of Punjab and Haryana where intense cold weather conditions continued on Tuesday.
In Haryana, Narnaul shivered at one degrees Celsius, four degrees below normal, according to a report of the Meteorological Department here.
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Among other places in the state, Ambala's minimum was 7.5 degrees Celsius while Karnal's low was 5.5 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperatures of Hisar, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Sirsa settled at 3.9, 6.6, 4.4 and 4 degrees Celsius respectively.
Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, recorded its minimum at 6.9 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Bathinda experienced cold weather conditions at 1.4 degrees Celsius.
Amritsar recorded its low at 5 degrees Celsius while Ludhiana's minimum was 6.6 degrees Celsius.
Pathankot, Faridkot and Gurdaspur recorded their respective minimums at 7.2, 4.4 and 3 degrees Celsius respectively.
(with PTI inputs)
