E-Paper
Chandigarh: Sunny respite short-lived as mercury drops to 13.4°C
The day began on a foggy note, with visibility dropping to 300 metres in the morning; although the sun made a brief appearance in the afternoon, it provided little warmth
A day after making a much-needed bright comeback, the sun played hide and seek on Tuesday, sending the day temperature plunging by five degrees and bringing back the chill.
The day began on a foggy note, with visibility dropping to 300 metres in the morning. Although the sun made a brief appearance in the afternoon, it provided little warmth.
As a result, the maximum temperature dropped sharply from 18.7°C on Monday to 13.4°C on Tuesday, settling 2.8 degrees below normal.
Explaining this, IMD Chandigarh director Surender Paul said, “While the regional blanket of fog seen in previous days is unlikely to reoccur, isolated pockets of fog may still form over the region and the city due to low temperatures and high humidity.”
Even on Tuesday, parts of Panchkula did not witness the fog seen across much of the city. On the other hand, while sunny spells were reported across the tricity in the afternoon, parts of Mohali remained overcast throughout the day.
The IMD has issued a yellow alert for dense fog in the city for the next three days, asking people to stay informed.
While cold North-Westerly winds will keep very dense fog or near-zero visibility conditions at bay, winter conditions are expected to remain harsh.
Paul noted that fog cover in recent days had prevented nights from turning too cold, an effect that may now weaken. Thus, the minimum temperature may dip below 5°C in the coming days.
On Tuesday, the minimum temperature slipped slightly from 7.8°C on Monday to 7.7°C, still 1.2 degrees above normal. Over the next three days, the maximum temperature is expected to range between 13°C and 15°C, while the minimum temperature may hover between 5°C and 6°C.
Train, flight operations impacted
Due to poor visibility overnight and in the early morning, several trains arrived late at the Chandigarh railway station on Tuesday, with delays ranging from 30 minutes to nearly three hours.
The Kalka Shatabdi Express (12011) was delayed by 45 minutes, while the Tata Jat Express (18101) reached the station 31 minutes behind its scheduled time. The impact was more severe for long-distance commuters. The LKO CDG Express (12231) arrived with a delay of one hour and 12 minutes, and the LJN CDG Express (15011) was hit even harder, reaching nearly three hours (2 hours and 57 minutes) late.
As many as six IndiGo flights were also cancelled at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport.
These included three arrivals from Leh (6E291), Jaipur (6E7718) and Delhi (6E759), resulting in the cancellation of their departures as well.
