E-Paper
Mercury slides to 14.3°C in Chandigarh
According to the India Meteorological Department, amid the temperature drop, the fog cover also reduced from “very dense” to “moderate”
With the city getting almost no sun on Friday, the day temperature fell to 14.3°C from 16.4°C on Thursday.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), amid the temperature drop, the fog cover also reduced from “very dense” to “moderate”.
Chances of below average day temperature and dense fog are likely to continue for the next two days as well.
At 14.3°C, the maximum temperature was 3.9 degrees below normal. The city was almost as cold as Shimla where the maximum temperature was 14.2°C and colder than Dharamshala that recorded a maximum temperature of 18.5°C.
As per IMD Chandigarh director, AK Singh, this happened as the fog blanket over the city reduced. While visibility was below 25 metres on Thursday morning, on Friday by 8.30 am, it had come up to 300 metres, which is considered as “moderate fog” as per IMD.
Singh said chances of dense fog can continue for the next two to three days, while a fresh Western Disturbance (WD) will affect the city around January 8 and can lead to light rain on January 9.
Meanwhile, the night temperature rose from 5.7°C on Thursday to 6.7°C on Friday, still 0.5 degree below normal. Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will remain between 16°C and 18°C, and the minimum temperature between 6°C and 7°C.
Air quality improves to moderate
The city’s air quality, which had become “very poor” in December has now improved to moderate. The average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 5 pm was 193 at the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station in Sector 53, the highest in the city, followed by 188 at the Sector 22 station and 136 at the Sector 25 station, all three in the “moderate” category.
However, even moderate AQI can cause breathing discomfort to people with lung and heart diseases.
14 flights cancelled
Amid adverse weather conditions in the region, as many as 14 flights were cancelled and more than a dozen were delayed at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport on Friday.
As per airport officials, until 7 pm, nine departure flights, including those by IndiGo to Delhi (2), Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chennai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, and another by Vistara to Delhi were cancelled.
Likewise, five arrivals, comprising IndiGo’s flights from Pune, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Lucknow also faced cancellations.
