Winter is here: Delhi records season’s lowest maximum temperature

The national capital recorded a maximum temperature of 25.8 degrees Celsius on Monday, the lowest this season so far, following rains under the influence of a Western Disturbance. However, the minimum temperature rose to 16 degrees Celsius, the highest since October 22, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

However, IMD has warned that by the weekend, minimum temperature will fall to 9 degrees Celsius.

On Monday, the maximum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung observatory, which is the representative data for the city, was 25.8 degrees Celsius, two degrees below the season’s normal.

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said the rise in the minimum temperature was due to the presence of clouds in the region under the influence of a western disturbance.

“Until now, Delhi has been witnessing a trend of low minimum temperatures this month due to the absence of cloud cover. But because of the western disturbance, the cloud cover over Delhi-NCR has increased. Clouds trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation and radiate it back downward, warming the ground,” said Srivastava said.

Srivastava, however, warned that by November 21, the minimum temperature is expected to fall to around 9 degrees Celsius.

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He explained that widespread snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, upper reaches of Uttarakhand will lead to a fall in minimum temperature by around 2 to 4 degrees over northwest India from Tuesday.

“There was snowfall at many places over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and over Uttarakhand. Rain and thundershowers occurred over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and some places over north Rajasthan. Today (Monday) the winds are easterly but they will shift to north-westerly from tomorrow (Tuesday). So cold winds will be blowing from the western Himalayas, where snowfall has just happened. We are expecting minimum temperature to drop under 10 degree C in the next couple of days,” he added.

IMD data shows that except on Monday, November’s minimum temperatures have been around 2-3 degrees below the season’s normal. October this year was the coldest in 58 years in the national capital, according to IMD data.

The mean minimum temperature in October this year was 17.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest since 1962, when it was 16.9 degrees Celsius, the IMD said. Normally, Delhi records a mean minimum temperature of 19.1 degrees Celsius in October.

Another IMD scientist said that since September, Delhi did not get a western disturbance up until Sunday, which kept the skies clear. If the sky is clear heat emitted from the earth’s surface freely escapes into space, resulting in colder temperatures.