E-Paper
Chandigarh shivers on coldest March night in five years
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines cold wave conditions as a period when the minimum temperature falls below 10° C and stays between 4.5 to 6.4 degrees below normal.
After a fresh spell of rain over the weekend, the minimum temperature on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday dropped to 7.2° C, the lowest since 2019.
Mercury fell nearly eight degrees from a night prior, when the minimum temperature was recorded at 15.6°C. At 7.2°C, it stood 5.3 degrees below normal to fall under the cold wave conditions.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines cold wave conditions as a period when the minimum temperature falls below 10° C and stays between 4.5 to 6.4 degrees below normal.
Addressing the drop, IMD Chandigarh director AK Singh said, “A drop in temperature was expected as the sky cleared up and cool winds prevailed in the city. It is expected that the temperature will rise in the coming days.”
Snowfall and hail in the adjoining areas in the region, however, will lead to cool winds and affect the night temperature for the next few days, he added.
A fresh western disturbance (WD) will affect the region from Tuesday onwards, but is unlikely to be strong enough to bring any rain, the IMD has predicted. Partly cloudy weather is expected on Tuesday, and clear weather is likely again from Wednesday onwards.
Maximum temperature, meanwhile, rose from 18.7° C on Sunday to 21.8° C on Monday, but remained 3.3 degrees below normal. In the next three days, the minimum temperature will remain between 9° C and 10° C while maximum temperature will hover around the 24°C mark.
