Cold wave declared in Chandigarh as night temperature drops to 2.8°C
As per the IMD, cold wave is declared in Chandigarh when the minimum temperature goes below 4°C. At 2.8°C, it was closer to a severe cold wave which is declared when minimum temperature goes below 2°C. A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is 10°C or below and also 4.5 notches lesser than the season’s normal.
Residents shivered under extreme weather conditions on Saturday night as the minimum temperature slipped to 2.8°C, a dip of around five degrees from Friday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has declared a cold wave in the city. Met officials, however, said the temperature is expected to remain low till the end of the year with some relief expected on New Year’s eve.
As per the IMD, cold wave is declared in this region when the minimum temperature goes below 4°C. At 2.8°C, it was closer to a severe cold wave which is declared when minimum temperature goes below 2°C. A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is 10°C or below and also 4.5 notches lesser than the season’s normal.
Saturday night coldest in two years
At 2.8°C, the minimum temperature was 3.3 degrees below normal. It is the lowest that the minimum temperature has gone in the city for the month of December since 2020 when the temperature had gone down to 2.7°C on December 31.
Even the maximum temperature fell from 18.6°C on Friday to 14.1°C on Saturday. This was 6.9 degrees below normal and officially declared the first severe cold day by the IMD. A severe cold day in this region is declared when the minimum temperature drops below 10°C and maximum temperature is more than 6.5 degrees below normal.
IMD Chandigarh director Manmohan Singh said, “While we had dense fog for the past few days, fog cover remained on the lower side on Friday night. Fog acts as a blanket, trapping heat and keeping it from escaping. Due to this, it is seen cloudy nights are also warmer than clear nights.” Chances of fog meanwhile will continue in the coming days as well.
Chances of light rain on New Year’s eve
While the city has remained dry this month, a Western Disturbance will be active in the city around December 31. While there are chances of light rain and snow in Himachal Pradesh, due to the city’s proximity to Himachal Pradesh, there will be chances of light rain in the city as well.
Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will remain between 15°C and 17°C while minimum temperature will remain between 4°C and 6°C.
6 flights delayed
Six flights, including three arrival flights, were delayed due to foggy weather on Saturday morning. According toX officials, no flight was cancelled since the weather got cleared in the day.