At 2.4 degrees Celsius, Delhi records season’s lowest temperature
NEW DELHI : Delhi recorded the season’s lowest temperature at 4.2° Celsius on Friday as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared cold wave conditions in several parts of north India, predicting that the Capital and surrounding areas could witness “cold day to severe cold day conditions” over the next two days
A blanket of fog reduced the visibility to less than 150 metres. The India Meteorological Department in its forecast said the minimum temperature in the national Capital may slip further in the next few days.
The weather department in its bulletin said Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh are also likely to experience severe cold conditions.Officials said due to the prevailing meteorological conditions, cold day to severe cold day conditions will continue in Delhi till Sunday. The city is expected to record its second-coldest December since 1901.Four flights have been diverted because of dense fog.
The national capital – under a cold spell since December 14 – is expected to witness its second-coldest December since 1901, according to the weather office. Mercury dipped to its lowest this morning with the Safdarjung Observatory – whose figures are taken as the official reading for the city – recording 2.4 degrees Celsius. Among other observatories, the one at Palam recorded 3.1 degrees Celsius, the Lodhi Road
observatory recorded 1.7 degrees Celsius, Aya Nagar observatory recorded 1.9 degrees Celsius, news agency PTI reported quoting a senior India Meteorological Department official.
Dense fog reduced visibility in parts of Delhi, disrupting rail, road and air traffic. Four flights have been diverted till now at Delhi airport due to low visibility and 24 trains are running late.
The cold spell in Delhi this year – likely to ease next week – beats the last such spell in 1997. After 1992, the city has had cold spells only in four years – 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2014.
Till Friday, the city recorded a mean maximum temperature of 19.4 degrees. The mean maximum temperature for December was less than 20 degrees only in 1919, 1929, 1961 and 1997, an IMD official told PTI.
Due to the persistence of cold northwesterly winds in the lower levels over northwest India, “cold day to severe cold day conditions” are very likely over many pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh over the weekend, the weather office said in its daily report on Friday.
Kufri, Manali, Solan, Bhuntar, Sundernagar and Kalpa shivered below sub-zero temperatures in Himachal Pradesh on Friday and Keylong recorded the lowest temperature in the state at minus 15 degrees Celsius.Rain and hailstorm have been predicted for several parts of north India, including Delhi, next week.
