Delhi: Minimum temperature drops to 2.1 degrees Celsius; moderate fog over city

“Cold" to "severe" cold wave is likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi for the next three or four days, according to India Meteorological Department

At 8.30am, Delhi’s Safdarjung station recorded a minimum temperature of 2.1 degrees Celsius, 7 degrees below normal.

Dense to very dense fog was observed in isolated pockets over Madhya Pradesh; dense fog in isolated pockets over Haryana, Bihar and Tripura and moderate fog was observed in isolated pockets over Delhi (Safdurjung & Palam), Uttarakhand, East Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya on Tuesday.

Gwalior and Jabalpur recorded visibility of less than 25 metres each. Ambala, Bhagalpur, Kailashahar and Agartala recorded less than 50 metres each. Dehradun, Delhi (Safdarjung and Palam), Bahraich, Lucknow, Sagar and Dibrugarh recorded visibility of less than 200 metres each.

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Cold, dry northwesterly winds have set in over the northern plains and adjoining parts of central India which are likely to persist for the next three or four days. Cold wave conditions are also likely in isolated pockets over Uttar Pradesh and Saurashtra and Kutch during the same period.

Current spell of dense to very dense fog over some pockets over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, north Rajasthan, Bihar, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim is likely to persist over these areas till January 29. "Cold day" to "severe cold day" conditions are likely over pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh during the next three days.

“A western disturbance which brought widespread snowfall to the Western Himalayan region on Friday and Saturday last week has passed.Northwesterly winds are blowing over Delhi bringing very cold air from that direction. The winds are chilly which makes the cold more perceptible. Minimum temp is likely to drop to 4 degrees Celsius in Delhi. This cold will persist for three or four days,” said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head regional weather forecasting centre.

According to IMD, a cold day or severe cold day is classified as such on two parameters—a minimum temperature of under 10 degrees and maximum temperature of 4.5 degrees Celsius or 6.4 degrees below normal.

A cold wave occurs in the plains when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and/or is 4.5 notches less than the season’s normal for two consecutive days. A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is less than 4 degrees Celsius in the plains.