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Chandigarh shivers at 13°C, coldest this season
As per the IMD, this was also the second day with cold day conditions this season. Cold day conditions are similar to cold wave conditions but are declared for maximum temperature instead of minimum temperature. For this region, when the minimum temperature is below 10°C and when maximum temperature is between 4.5 to 6.4 degrees below normal, it is classified as a cold day by the IMD.
The city recorded a sharp dip in temperature on Friday, with the maximum dropping to 13°C, 5.2 degrees below normal, which was the lowest day temperature so far this year.
Further, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for dense fog over the next three days.
This comes a day after the city had recorded 13.7 mm rain, which had taken the day temperature to 15°C.
As per the IMD, this was also the second day with cold day conditions this season. Cold day conditions are similar to cold wave conditions but are declared for maximum temperature instead of minimum temperature. For this region, when the minimum temperature is below 10°C and when maximum temperature is between 4.5 to 6.4 degrees below normal, it is classified as a cold day by the IMD.
Despite snow in Himachal Pradesh, the maximum temperature of the city at 13°C was as low as Shimla, where also the maximum temperature on Friday was 13°C. Manali was in fact warmer than both with maximum temperature at 13.2°C. This is the first time this season that the city has been colder than Manali during the day.
The minimum temperature, meanwhile, dropped from 9.7°C on Thursday to 9.5°C on Friday, 2.3 degrees above normal. Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will remain between 14°C and 16°C while the minimum temperature will remain between 7°C and 8°C. Meanwhile, air quality in the city remains poor. As per the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily Air Quality Index (AQI) bulletin, Chandigarh recorded an AQI of 202. Panchkula and Delhi also remained in the poor category with AQI levels of 232 and 236, respectively. However, officials expect air quality to improve in the coming days due to the recent rainfall.
Flights disrupted
Dense fog continued to disrupt air traffic at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport on Friday, leading to the cancellation of a total of 14 flights, airport officials said. Among the cancelled flights, seven were arrivals and seven were scheduled to depart from the airport. The cancelled arrival flights were supposed to land from Delhi, Jaipur, Hisar, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kangra. The cancelled departure flights were for Delhi, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Hisar, Kangra and Bengaluru.
Trains disrupted
Dense fog also disrupted rail services across the region. The Chandigarh–Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express was delayed by three hours and 37 minutes, arriving at Chandigarh railway station at 7.22 pm instead of its scheduled 3.45 pm. Several other trains bound for Chandigarh were also running behind schedule. At the time of filing this report, the Unchahar Express was running four hours 47 minutes late and was expected to arrive around noon on Saturday, instead of its usual 9.15 am arrival. The Chandigarh Shatabdi Express was delayed by 46 minutes, reaching at 11,21 pm instead of 10.35 pm. Two trains were cancelled due to the prevailing conditions: the Chandigarh Express departing from Amritsar and the Hoshiarpur Express from Agra Cantt, both en route to Chandigarh. Among other delays, the Netaji Express was running two hours 52 minutes late, while the Jammu Tawi Express arrived 46 minutes behind schedule at Chandigarh railway junction. The Andaura-Ambala Junction passenger train (74992) reached Chandigarh one hour late at 11.55 am and was further delayed by one hour 47 minutes en route to Ambala. The Delhi-Kalka Express was delayed by 27 minutes. Trains from Delhi were largely unaffected, with only minor delays. The Kalka Shatabdi Express and Paschim Superfast Express were late by no more than 15 minutes. The Amb Andaura Vande Bharat Express reached Chandigarh 22 minutes late, an improvement compared to Thursday when it was delayed by over an hour.
