Delhi had seven cold wave days in January this year, maximum since 2008

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said that the number of cold wave days in January this year was the highest since 2008 — when 12 cold wave days were recorded.

Delhi recorded seven ‘cold wave’ days in January this year, the maximum for the month since 2008, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recordings showed on Sunday.

The IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature is recorded below 10 degrees Celsius and the deviation from normal is four degrees or above. (HT Photo)

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said that the number of cold wave days in January this year was the highest since 2008 — when 12 cold wave days were recorded.

“This time in January we had seven cold wave days and in 2008, we had recorded 12 cold wave days in January. Only one cold wave day each was recorded in 2019 and 2020,” Srivastava said.

The city had recorded six cold wave days in the January of 2013.

The IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature is recorded below 10 degrees Celsius and the deviation from normal is four degrees or above.

Srivastava said the increase in the number of cold wave days this month was caused because only one western disturbance affected the plains of northwest India this year, which led to more cloudless nights and low temperatures. The northwesterly winds from the snow-clad regions in the Himalayas blowing into Delhi also kept the temperatures low, he said.

“Clouds trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation, warming the ground. The minimum temperature falls in the absence of a cloud cover,” Srivastava explained.

A cold wave swept the national capital on Sunday morning as well, with the minimum temperature dipping to 3.1 degrees Celsius. This is the fourth cold wave day in Delhi in a week. As the day progressed, however, the temperatures rose, with the maximum temperature of the city to reach and settling at 25 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal.

The IMD has also forecasted that a fresh western disturbance is expected to pass over Delhi-NCR, which will result in thunderstorm and light rain over the region on February 4 and February 5.

Meanwhile, as the day time temperature improved, pollution levels also subsided on Sunday, with the air quality index (AQI) reaching the ‘poor’ category.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recordings showed that the overall AQI on Sunday was 289, in the ‘poor’ zone. On Saturday, the average AQI was 309, considered to be in the ‘very poor’ zone.