Day temp at 30-day low, colder days predicted till Feb 7
GURUGRAM: The maximum temperature in the city on Saturday fell to 16.1 degrees Celsius, the lowest in a month, on Saturday from 20 degrees Celsius on Friday. Saturday’s day temperature was four degrees below the normal for this time of the year.
The minimum temperature in Gurugram on Saturday was 8 degrees Celsius. On Sunday, the minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to settle around 8 degrees and 19 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Saturday was the coldest February day in over five years, with the mercury dropping to 17.9 degrees Celsius, four degrees below the season’s average. February 15, 2014, was the last time temperature was this low—15 degrees Celsius. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the reason for this is the snowfall in the upper reaches of the Himalayan region.
The IMD has predicted “severe” weather with thunderstorm, hailstorm and heavy snowfall over the western Himalayan region between February 5 and 7, 2019. “This will prolong the cold spell in Delhi, with a temperature drop of 2 to 4 degrees predicted after February 7 in the northern plains. Days will be chilly and windy, while nights will be marginally warmer in Delhi,” a senior IMD official said.
According to IMD officials, this is due to a disturbance affecting the western Himalayan region and the plains of northwest India from February 4. A western disturbance had affected this region on January 31 and February 1 leading to widespread and heavy snowfall in the higher reaches of the northern states.
Early Saturday, the city was covered in dense fog with visibility dropping to less than 100 metres at the IGI Airport. Thirteen trains were delayed. There is a possibility of ‘dense to very dense’ fog on Sunday morning as well. The IMD, in its bulletin on Saturday, stated that “dense to very dense fog” is likely to affect the northern plains, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana in the next two days. Between December 20 and January 2, Delhi recorded the longest cold spell in 14 years.
“There is no cold wave now. But there will be a temporary temperature drop in the plains following the western disturbance,” said M Mohapatra, director general of meteorology at IMD.