Delhi temperature won't dip to subzero, says agency amid -4 prediction for North India

SkyMet weather, a private weather forecast service agency, said Delhi's temperature will not dip to subzero after a weather expert predicted that temperatures in the plains of North India may dip as far as minus 4 degrees Celsius next week. "There are rumors going on in newspapers and TV channels about minimum of #Delhi dipping to subzero. This is a wrong prediction, probably to get some highlight. Please do not believe in such baseless rumors. Ongoing WD (Western Disturbances) is moving away," SkyMet weather tweeted.

Delhi may witness a minimum of 3-4 degrees between January 16 and 18 and isolated pockets pat witness a minimum of around 2 degrees, but it won't go below 0 degrees anywhere, the agency said.

The national capital on Saturday morning recorded its minimum temperature at 10.2 degree Celsius - three notches above the season’s average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The weather department has also predicted a “partly cloud sky” during the day. The maximum temperature is expected to settle at 21 degrees Celsius. Subzero minimums are possible over parts of Rajasthan -- in Sikar and Churu, the agency said after the national capital recorded an almost unprecedented cold spell in the first part of January.

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Earlier, the IMD said that cold wave conditions will likely re-emerge over North-West India and peak around January 15-16. The weather department also predicted a dense to very dense fog in some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and isolated pockets over Uttar Pradesh. “Dense fog in isolated pockets over Jammu division, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, north Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar is also expected with cold day conditions likely in isolated pockets over Uttar Pradesh on January 15,” it added.

Weather expert Navdeep Dahiya, the founder of Live Weather of India, predicted an extreme cold spell between January 16 and 18. "Never seen temperature ensemble going this low in a prediction model so far in my career. Freezing -4°c to +2°c in plains, Wow!" he tweeted. This prediction triggered speculations about whether Delhi's temperature will dip to subzero.