Record-breaking winter worsens, North shivers
WARNING ISSUED 0.3° Celsius in Hisar, Delhi records season’s low of 4.2°C
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.
Some places in the desert state of Rajasthan witnessed near-zero temperatures, with fog in some places delaying at least 21 trains in the region.
The weather forecaster has said that the national capital could record the second-coldest December in a century due to significantly low day temperatures. The mean maximum temperature this month till Thursday was 19.84°C. The lowest mean maximum temperature in the city was recorded in 1997 at 17.3°C.
In the northern plains, Fatehpur town in Rajasthan’s Sikar district recorded the minimum temperature of -3° Celsius, whereas Drass in Ladakh recorded -32° Celsius. In most other places in the region, the minimum temperatures recorded were between 1° and 7° Celsius, a departure from the normal 8°and 10° Celsius.
Delhi is experiencing one of its worst winters, with an intense cold spell of 14 days and possibly the second lowest day temperatures for December recorded in a century. At the Safdarjung observatory in Delhi, the minimum tempera
ture was 4.2° Celsius, three degrees below the season’s normal. Fog is also expected at some places in the next two days. On Friday, Delhi began recording cold wave conditions, when the minimum or night temperature at many stations was 4° below normal.
The national capital could also see a spell of bad air over the next two days, with the air quality likely to plunge to the “severe” category, on account of
weak winds and increase in fog cover. The condition is likely to improve because of rain and hail expected on December 31, the weather forecaster said.
IMD has predicted some relief beginning December 31.