Parts of Delhi record ‘severe cold’ as mercury slides again

“Cold day” to “severe cold day” conditions were recorded in isolated parts of the city on Monday as icy northwesterly winds continued to impact the region, keeping the maximum temperature below normal and the skies overcast and grey. The weather station at Safdarjung, which is representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded a maximum of 15°C, which was over five degrees below normal. The lowest maximum across the city was 12.8°C, recorded at the Pusa station in west Delhi.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast similar weather conditions in Delhi-NCR on New Year’s Eve, issuing a yellow alert for possible cold day conditions in isolated pockets on Tuesday too.

The IMD classifies it as a “cold day” when the maximum temperature is 4.5°C or more below normal, with the minimum also being below 10°C. It is a “severe cold day” when the maximum is 6.5°C or more below normal, with the minimum also being below 10°C.

The maximum was 15°C at Safdarjung, and the minimum was 10.3°C, which fell just short of “cold day” conditions.

The Pusa weather station recorded a “severe cold day”, as the maximum of 12.8°C was eight degrees below normal, followed by the Palam station, where the maximum of 13°C was seven degrees below normal. Two other stations—Ayanagar (14.2°C) and Ridge (14.9°C), meanwhile, recorded a “cold day”, with a departure of 5°C below normal. All these stations had a minimum temperature below the 10°C mark.

“The impact of cold northwesterly winds are likely to give cold day conditions to isolated parts of Delhi on Tuesday too,” an IMD official said.

There was also a drop in the minimum temperature by 2-3°C across the Capital. Monday’s minimum of 10.3°C was 2.7°C lower than Sunday’s minimum temperature and it is expected to dip by 2-3°C by Tuesday, according to IMD.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet meteorology, said winds were blowing from snow-clad mountains towards the Capital, which is bound to impact both day and night-time temperatures.

“These winds are providing a chilling effect during the day, even if there is sunshine. At the same time, despite some cloudiness, these winds are leading to a drop in minimum temperature at night-time, which is expected to drop even further (on Tuesday),” said Palawat.

He said that a fresh western disturbance from January 2 is expected to slow down the strong northwesterly winds again. “Once that happens, we may see a slight increase in both maximum and minimum again,” he said.

The lowest minimum recorded so far this season was 4.5°C, on December 16, and the lowest maximum so far this season was 14.6°C, recorded on December 27.

Shallow fog was reported across the city on Monday, with the lowest visibility at 900 metres, recorded at both Palam and Safdarjung. IMD has forecast shallow to moderate fog across Delhi-NCR on New Year’s Eve and on January 1.