Delhi shivered on a ‘severe cold day’ as the national capital recorded its lowest temperature at 5.6 degrees Celsius, lower than those reported in Dharamsala and Nainital on Tuesday as cold wave continued to sweep northern parts of the country.
The Safdarjung observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 5.6 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal and the maximum temperature was predicted to settle around 16 degrees Celsius. In comparison, the minimum temperature in Dehradun was recorded at 7 degrees Celsius, Dharamsala at 6.2 degrees Celsius and Nainital at 7.2 degrees Celsius.
The weather office predicted a cold day due to the high windchill factor, i.e. a measure of the rate of heat loss from the skin that is exposed to the air. In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to four degrees Celsius or when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and is 4.5 notches below normal.
A ‘severe’ cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to two degrees Celsius or the departure from normal is more than 6.4 degrees Celsius.
Experts said the sharp drop in day temperatures in Delhi was due to frigid north-westerly winds barrelling through the plains and reduced sunshine due to foggy weather.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet Weather, said a western disturbance led to a fresh spell of snowfall in the mountains on December 25-26 and cold northwesterly winds were sweeping through the plains after its retreat.
The sun was blotted out in large swathes of northwest India as dense to very dense fog prevailed in some parts of the National Capital Region, Haryana, Punjab, west Uttar Pradesh and north Rajasthan.
In the national capital, visibility fell to just 50 metres and affected road traffic and train movement.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), ‘very dense’ fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 metres is ‘dense’, 201 and 500 ‘moderate’, and 501 and 1,000 ‘shallow’.
Punjab and Haryana
Fog shrouded many parts of Punjab and Haryana where intense cold weather conditions continued on Tuesday.
Haryana, Narnaul shivered at one degree Celsius, four degrees below normal, according to a report of the Met centre. In Punjab, Bathinda experienced cold weather conditions at 1.4 degrees Celsius while Amritsar shivered at 5 degrees Celsius and Ludhiana’s minimum was 6.6 degrees Celsius.
Severe cold conditions continued in Rajasthan as well. However, the regional weather office has predicted the possibility of a slight increase in the minimum and the maximum temperatures from Wednesday.
Kashmir: Parts of Dal Lake Freezes
In Kashmir, coldwave conditions prevailed as the mercury slipped by a couple of degrees across the Valley, pushing the minimum temperature further below freezing point, according to officials. The minimum temperature on Monday night fell by one to two degrees compared to the previous night.
The intense cold led to water supply lines freezing in several areas. The interiors of Dal Lake and several other water bodies in the Valley also froze, the officials said. The minimum temperature in Srinagar settled at minus 4.8 degrees Celsius, lower than the minus 3.5 degrees Celsius recorded on Sunday night.
Sub-zero Temperatures in Himachal Pradesh
The minimum temperatures dipped 10-12 degrees below freezing point in Himachal Pradesh’s high altitude tribal areas, mountain passes, and other higher ranges, while several other places reeled under lower reaches of sub-zero temperature.
Keylong in tribal Lahaul valley recorded minus 7.9 degrees, followed by Kusumseri minus 5.0 degrees, Kalpa minus 3.6 degrees, Manali minus 0.6 degrees, and Bhuntar minus 0.4 degrees. Solan and Shimla recorded a minimum of 2.3 and 4.5 degrees Celsius, in that order. Dense fog engulfed the lower hills of the state. The cold wave conditions are likely to continue, according to the weather department.
The local MeT office has predicted light rainfall at isolated places in lower, mid, and higher hills on Thursday and rains at isolated places and in mid-hills and rains or snow at isolated places in higher hills on Friday.
(With inputs from PTI)
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