Minimum temperature may drop; better air in store: IMD
The minimum temperature over Delhi is likely to drop by between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius from Tuesday, as wind directions change again, this time from easterly to northwesterly, said the Met office, adding that mornings may see shallow to moderate fog.
“With the change in wind direction, winds are likely to blow from the direction of western Himalayas, so they will be colder. The minimum temperature in Delhi may be around 8°C, while the maximum may be around 21°C. Winds are also likely to pick up, so air quality may improve,” said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Delhi’s minimum temperature rose to 9°C on Monday.
The air quality index (AQI) in
NEW DELHI:
Delhi on Monday was 372, categorised as ‘very poor’, a minor increase from 347 the previous day. According to air quality early warning system under the Union ministry of earth sciences, there will be northwesterly winds of around 10 kmph blowing on Tuesday and of 15 to 20 kmph on Wednesday, which will help disperse pollutants and improve the city’s air.
Currently, easterly winds are prevailing at lower levels over the northern plains. Wind direction is likely to change from easterly to westerly/northwesterly over northwest India from Monday night. Due to the change in wind direction, minimum temperatures are likely to fall by 2 to 4°C during the next three days, leading to ‘cold wave’ conditions in isolated pockets over eastern Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi during January 18 to 20 and over western Uttar Pradesh and northern Rajasthan during January 19 to 21, according to IMD’S Monday bulletin.
Dense to very dense fog is likely over parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, north Rajasthan, Bihar and Odisha during next 24. ‘Cold day’ conditions are also likely isolated pockets over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during next 2 days.
According to IMD, a cold day or a severe cold day is classified as such based on two parameters—a minimum temperature of under 10°C and maximum temperature of 4.5°C or 6.4°C below normal, respectively.