No respite from cold wave till Jan 31: IMD
Weatherman has forecasted cold wave conditions on Thursday and Friday, AQI in Noida, Gzb still in ‘very poor’ zone
NOIDA: Residents of Noida and adjoining areas will experience spells of cold wave for the next two days, along with icy cold northwesterly winds and clear skies, said officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday.
The IMD has forecasted cold wave conditions on Thursday and Friday, which may extend till January 31, depending on the wind speed and its direction. The mercury is likely to drop and hover around 4 degrees Celsius during this period.
“The wind direction has changed from south-westerly to northwesterly. There will be cold wave conditions in isolated areas of the NCR areas, including parts of western Uttar Pradesh, as the northwesterly winds picks up speed. The minimum temperature is likely to drop to nearly 4 degrees Celsius,” said an official at IMD.
On Wednesday, the minimum temperature for Noida was recorded at 7.6 degrees Celsius as against 6.2 degrees Celsius a day earlier.
The maximum temperature for Noida was recorded at 21 degrees Celsius as against 20.2 degrees Celsius a day prior. The minimum for NCR, based on Safdarjung observatory, was 5.4 degrees Celsius — three notches below the season’s average of 8-9 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature a day earlier was 2.2 degrees.the maximum for NCR on Wednesday was 21.5 degrees Celsius as against 20.4 degrees Celsius a day before.
The meteorological department has also forecasted moderate fog during the morning hours.
According to weather analysts, while the minimum temperature will see a drop, and a respite from cold conditions is possible only around February 1, when another round of western disturbance will change the wind direction from the icy cold northwesterly to the relatively warmer easterly and south-easterly winds.
“The city is currently experiencing northwesterly winds, along with clear skies. As such, the mercury is plummeting. Clear skies allow earth’s heat to escape the atmosphere quickly. This cold condition will prevail till February 1 or 2, till another western disturbance changes the wind directions and leads to a spike in the mercury,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president, meteorology and climate change, Skymet. He added that a layer of thick fog will also dissolve earlier, leading to better visibility during the last few days.
“The northwesterly winds are also dry or carry less humidity, leading to a quicker dispersal of the thick layer fog. So, open areas like expressways may experience foggy conditions in the morning that might disperse by 8am,” said Palawat.
Meanwhile, the air quality of Noida and Ghaziabad continued to be in the “very poor” category as per the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI) bulletin.
The air quality of Greater Noida, however, showed a marginal improvement from “very poor” to “poor” category.
“The wind speed has increased from 8-10 kmph yesterday to an average of 15 kmph on Wednesday. The wind speed will remain almost the same for the next few days,” Palawat added. According to the CPCB’S AQI index, Noida recorded an AQI reading of 342 on Wednesday as against 370 a day earlier. Greater Noida’s AQI was 300 against 365 a day earlier. The AQI of Ghaziabad was 357 as against 395 a day earlier.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), no significant improvement in air pollution is expected. “Wind direction is forecasted to shift to North-westerly. Due to cold dry winds, the temperature is likely to decrease for next two days. No significant change is ventilation index is forecasted for the next three days. AQI is likely to marginally improve, and the lower end of the Very Poor category is forecasted for the next three days,” read a statement by SAFAR on Wednesday.