Cold wave, fog likely over next one week in Noida, Ghaziabad, says Met Department
GHAZIABAD: Residents in Noida and Ghaziabad should brace for cold wave and foggy conditions for the next one week starting Thursday; the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that the temperatures will go further south in the coming days and foggy/mist conditions will prevail over the region.
According to the IMD, the minimum temperature in Gautam Budh Nagar (GB Nagar) on Thursday was 11 degrees Celsius (°C) while the maximum was 22°C, while in Ghaziabad city it was between 12°C and 22°C.
According to the IMD forecast, the minimum temperature in GB Nagar is expected to go down to 7°C and even further to 6 degress by December 22. The maximum temperature may remain between 19 and 22°C, during the period from December
16 to 22, the forecasters said.
Likewise, the minimum temperature in Ghaziabad will remain between 12°C and 8°C during the period, while the maximum will be between 19 to 22°C.
The forcast also said “cold wave” conditions will prevail in
GB Nagar and Ghaziabad on December 19, 20 and 21 while fog/mist will prevail during morning hours in both cities.
A cold wave occurs in the plains when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and/or is 4.5 notches lesser than the season’s normal for two consecutive days. A Cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is less than 4 degrees Celsius in the plains.
“We are expecting temperatures to fall in the next couple of days. It will be a result of northerly winds from hilly areas which will bring with it the chill. As a result of northerly winds, the cloud cover is expected to clear over the region. The minimum temperature may go down to 6 °C and foggy conditions will prevail,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president, meteorology and climate change, Skymet.
“The fog is expected to be light to moderate which will provide visibility of about 500-1,000 metres. Due to winds, the air quality index (AQI) will improve a bit and likely to remain in the ”poor” category of the AQI scale on Friday. There is no prediction of rain for the next one week,” he added.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s 4pm bulletin, the AQI in the three cities of Ghaziabad, Greater Noida and Noida was 326, 308 and 314, respectively, in the “very poor” category.
The officials of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) said the pollutants are accumulating in the sbasence of speedy winds.
“The AQI has deteriorated due to the wind speed falling, which has reduced the dispersal of pollutants,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UPPCB.
An AQI reading between 0 and 50 is considered ”good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 ”moderate”, 201 and 300 ”poor”, 301 and 400 ”very poor”, and 401 and 500 ”severe”.
The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar) said on Thursday, the AQI remained in “very poor” category.