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Day temp plummets by 7 degrees in Chandigarh
Drops from 19.5°C to 12.6°C: Cold day conditions make a comeback; IMD issues orange alert for dense fog in Chandigarh
Cold day conditions make a comeback; orange warning for dense fog
After sunny respite over the past couple of days, cold day conditions made a comeback on Friday, as dense fog returned and the day temperature plunged by seven notches.
Chandigarh’s day temperature was the same as Manali and lower than some other hill stations like Shimla. As per India Meteorological Department (IMD), an orange alert for dense fog and cold day conditions will continue over the weekend.
Falling from 19.5°C on Thursday, Friday’s maximum temperature at 12.6°C was 5.6 degrees below normal and lowest since 12.4°C on January 12.
It was also a “cold day”, which is declared when the minimum temperature is below 10°C and maximum temperature falls 4.5°C to 6.4 degrees below normal. There have been 10 days this season with cold day conditions and one day with severe cold day conditions, when the maximum temperature falls over 6.5 degrees below normal.
There have also been three days with cold wave conditions this season, which is declared when the minimum temperature falls below 4°C in this region. However, a cold wave is unlikely with dense fog as it keeps the temperature from falling too low.
On Friday, the minimum temperature rose to 8.5°C from 5.8°C on Thursday, 1.1 degree above normal. This was the highest since 8.7°C on January 3.
Visibility was down to 150 metres at 5.30 am and fell further to 100 metres at 8.30 am. As per IMD, visibility between 50 and 200 metres is classified as dense fog.
IMD Chandigarh director AK Singh said, “Dense fog is likely for now and we have also issued a red alert for parts of Punjab and Haryana. Fog forms in pockets, and while there may be some hours of respite and sunny weather, fog is likely in the morning and evening for the next few days.”
Due to adverse weather conditions, 14 flights were cancelled at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International airport on Friday.
Seven outbound flights to Delhi, Hyderabad (2), Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Pune faced cancellations.
Additionally, seven arrival flights from Pune, Jaipur, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Ahmedabad were also cancelled.
Moreover, a total of 10 departures to Bengaluru, Mumbai, Goa, Jaipur and Ahmedabad, apart from six incoming flights experienced delays.
The morning Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi Express reached the national capital 51 minutes late, while it was on time coming from New Delhi to Kalka.
The noon Shatabdi was rescheduled by two hours, and reached New Delhi after a total delay of three hours and 51 minutes. The Vande Bharat Express from New Delhi reached Chandigarh 19 minutes late.
