Delhi weather: Temperature takes a back seat as chilly winds make it colder

The mercury levels in the city don’t say it, but chilly winds this season have given the Capital’s winters a vicious bite. The minimum temperature on Tuesday is expected to be at 4.2 degree Celsius while the maximum will be at 18 degree Celsius, however, the phenomenon of chilly winds which started on Monday is expected to intensify, giving the Capital a colder feel.

Weathermen say that a cold north westerly wind is responsible for making Delhi colder. “Just imagine that you are in a room and somebody switches on the fan. You will start feeling colder, even though the temperature in the room does not change. Something similar happens when wind starts blowing in the winter,” explained a weather expert. As the wind speed stays at around 12-14kmph, the increase in temperature during the day is unable to provide succour from the chill.

On Wednesday morning, the city also woke up to shallow fog which resulted in delay of 38 trains and over a dozen flights. The general visibility at Delhi airport was 150 metre but Runway Visibility Range (RVR) was between 200m and 450m.

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At least 38 trains are arriving late and eight have been rescheduled while one train was cancelled, railway officials said. “There will be partly cloudy sky and minimum temperature will be 4.2 degree Celsius. Maximum temperature could be 18 degree Celsius and visibility at 600m,” officials said.

On Tuesday, the minimum temperature recorded by the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, was 6.0 degrees as against 8.9 degrees on Monday. While this is only a degree below normal for Delhi at this time of the year the chilly winds had left people huddling.

Weathermen said these winds passed over snowcapped peaks in J&K and Himachal Pradesh before reaching the city. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials also confirmed that these winds were responsible for the chill in Delhi. “The wind is making people shiver,” said an official from the IMD.

Meanwhile, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in areas like Punjabi Bagh, Anand Vihar, Lodhi Colony, Siri Fort, Kashmere Gate, and Chhattarpur crossed 400 in the morning, as recorded by Hindustan Times’ real-time air quality tracking app. The level of air pollution in these areas has been called “severe,” and the air is deemed too dangerous to even breathe.