Chandigarh basks in warmth as mercury reaches a balmy 21.4°C

As the sun shone with all its glory, the city’s maximum temperature climbed to 21.4°C on Saturday, making it the warmest day of the season.

The rise came as a welcome break from days of intense chill and dense fog, bringing relief to residents who hadn’t seen the day temperature crossing 20°C through January.

Over the last three days, ample sunshine has embraced the city, bringing a comforting warmth.

After residents braved a biting 8.4°C on January 24 — lowest since 6.1°C in January 2013 — the maximum temperature has been on a surprising but much preferred ascent.

Rising to 16.5°C on January 25, it jumped to 20.4°C the next day, before further soaring to 21.4°C on Saturday, although still two degrees below the normal temperature.

Night temperature also on the rise

The minimum temperature has also shown an uptick over the past two days.

After 4.6°C on January 25, it moved up to 7.1°C on January 26 and further to 7.7°C on Saturday, which is normal.

Shivinder Singh, a scientist at IMD Chandigarh, mentioned that the elevated wind velocity on Saturday played a crucial role in dissipating the fog and allowing bright sunshine, resulting in an increase in the maximum temperature.

Meanwhile, due to a new Western Disturbance (WD) cloudy weather is likely over the next two days. Still, the maximum temperature is expected to remain around 22°C and the minimum temperature around 9°C. Moderate fog is also anticipated on Sunday.

Singh further said on January 30 and 31, another WD was expected to bring cloudy weather with light rain at some places in the region. Following this, the weather should improve.

One flight cancelled, 10 delayed

While one arrival flight got cancelled at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, a total of 10 flights, including four arrivals, got delayed on Saturday. The cancelled flight IndiGo’s 6E-242 was to arrive from Pune at 5.55 am.

The evening New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi Express (train number 12005) adhered to its schedule on Friday night. However, the return journey to the Capital on Saturday morning (12006) faced a delay of 17 minutes.

The morning New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi Express was rescheduled by 5 hours and 51 minutes. Initially planned for 7.40 am, it departed at 1.31 pm. The return train (12012) from Kalka was rescheduled by 1 hour and 15 minutes.

In contrast, the Chandigarh-New Delhi Shatabdi Express (12045) and its return journey (12046) as well were on time. The Vande Bharat Train (22447) from New Delhi to Ambala Andaura faced an 8-minute delay.