Delhi stays shrouded in fog as IMD predicts rain by weekend

Delhi remains foggy with zero visibility in some areas; light rain is expected January 23, while temperatures are set to rise slightly.

A thick blanket of fog continued to shroud Delhi and its surrounding areas in the early hours of Sunday, even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast the possibility of rain toward the end of the coming week.

According to IMD, Safdarjung recorded zero visibility for nearly six hours between 2.30am and 8.30am. (Sunil Ghosh/HT photo)

For Monday, IMD has issued a “yellow alert” for dense fog in isolated pockets of the city and the weather agency has forecast “light rain” in the Capital on January 23, potentially breaking what has so far largely been a dry and cold winter spell.

According to IMD, Safdarjung recorded zero visibility for nearly six hours, between 2.30am and 8.30am. Visibility at Palam dipped to 100 metres around 7.30am.

While no flights were cancelled or diverted at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, more than 500 flights were delayed through the day, with an average delay of about 34 minutes, according to data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24. Northern Railways also reported delays to several trains during the early hours.

Delhi’s minimum temperature on Sunday was recorded at 5.3°C – about two degrees below normal, but 0.9°C higher than Saturday’s minimum. Cold wave conditions abated across the region on Saturday, and forecasts indicate that minimum temperatures are likely to rise further, hovering between 7°C and 9°C on Monday.

Meteorologists said that although fresh snowfall is expected in the western Himalayan region on January 22, temperatures in Delhi are unlikely to dip to the levels seen last week. The Capital’s lowest minimum last week was 3°C, recorded at Safdarjung – making it the coldest morning in three years.

“A series of western disturbances is now expected and winds have already turned easterly. An active western disturbance is likely to bring rain to Delhi-NCR beginning the night of January 22 and continuing into January 23. Some pockets may even record moderate showers,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet Weather. He added that fresh snowfall is also expected in the hills.

Palawat said minimum temperatures could dip again after the passage of this western disturbance, but another system is expected around January 26. “A significant dip in temperatures is likely only towards the end of the month, and even then, it may only fall to around 4-5°C in Delhi. The worst of the winter is over,” he said.

Delhi’s maximum temperature on Sunday stood at 22.7°C, about three degrees above normal. It is forecast to remain mild on Monday, hovering between 24°C and 26°C. Until January 24, maximum temperatures are expected to stay above 20°C, with no cold-day conditions likely in the region, officials said.