Noida coldest in NCR, cold wave conditions to return
City’s maximum temperature went down by five notches, from 18.7 degrees on Saturday to 13.8 degrees on Sunday
NOIDA: With a maximum temperature of 13.8 degrees Celsius, Noida on Sunday emerged as the coldest city in the national capital region (NCR), data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed.
On Sunday, Noida recorded the lowest maximum temperature among the NCR cities, IMD officials said. However, the minimum temperature for the city was recorded at 9.8 degrees Celsius against 8.8 degrees a day earlier. The maximum temperature went down by five notches, from 18.7 degrees on Saturday to 13.8 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
According to the IMD data, the average maximum and minimum temperatures for NCR, based on Safdarjung observatory on Sunday, were recorded at 15 degrees Celsius, six degrees below the season’s average, and 8.8 degrees Celsius, a degree above the season’s average, respectively.
While the minimum temperature for Noida soared by a degree Celsius in the past 24 hours, weather analysts said that the minimum temperatures will too fall over the next 24 hours by 3-4 degrees Celsius.
IMD has predicted extreme winter conditions for the region till January 28, with dense to very dense fog in the morning hours, moderate to dense fog during the day time, and cold wave conditions persisting throughout the day.
“Extreme winter conditions are round the corner due to different meteorological conditions. Sunday saw cold day for most of the NCR, and from Monday
onwards the minimum temperature will also begin to fall and may hover around 4 to 5 degrees Celsius. The region will see cold wave and cold day at the same time by January 26. The harsh conditions would persist at least till January 28,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, IMD.
For a cold day, the maximum temperature should be either below 15 degrees Celsius or it should be 4.5 degrees below the season’ average. For cold wave, either the minimum temperature should be below 4 degrees Celsius, or it should be below 4.5 degrees of the season’s average.
“The reason for the mercury falling is majorly the icy cold north-westerly wind, while the
thick layer of fog will block the sunlight. The fog layer will be at surface during the early morning hours and elevate about 300 metres above the surface by the day time. So, there would be no sunlight and earth won’t have any heat to radiate either, all these factors would matter over the next three to four days,” Srivastava added.
Meanwhile, the air quality of Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad continued being under ‘very poor’ levels. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quality index (AQI) of Noida was 322 against 325 a day earlier. AQI of Greater Noida was 388 against 319 on Saturday, while Ghaziabad’s AQI was 390 against 314 a day earlier.