Light rain in parts of Delhi, brace for drop in mercury this week

Met officials said the minimum temperature in Delhi will start dipping from December 29 and reach around 5-6°C by New Year

Parts of Delhi recorded a drizzle on Sunday evening, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting similar rain activity on Monday and Tuesday due to an active western disturbance currently influencing the region.

At Connaught Place, on Sunday. Between 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm, Safdarjung recorded 1.4mm of rainfall, while Palam received 0.2mm of rain. (Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times)

Between 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm, Safdarjung recorded 1.4mm of rainfall, while Palam received 0.2mm of rain. The Capital recorded a maximum temperature of 21.4°C, one degree above normal, and the minimum was 9.8°C, two notches above normal, on Sunday.

Met officials said the minimum temperature in Delhi will start dipping from December 29 and reach around 5-6°C by New Year’s.

Moderate fog is also expected to occur in the region with visibility dropping below 500 metres in the early hours of the day in the last week of December, from Monday.

IMD scientist RK Jenamani said light rain was forecast to occur in parts of Delhi on Sunday night and in the early hours of Monday, with a similar spell expected on Tuesday too. “Delhi will receive a little rain, and there will be snowfall in the higher reaches (of north India). Following this spell, minimum temperature will once again start dipping and touch 5-6°C by January 1,” he said.

The maximum is also expected to drop below the 20-degrees mark by December 29, owing to overcast conditions during the day in this period.

Jenamani said the possibility of dense fog in Delhi is low, but shallow to moderate fog is expected from December 27 onwards. “As more moisture gets introduced, visibility will again start dropping. However, we are unlikely to see it drop below 200 metres,” he said.

Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (Safar) has predicted that the rain spell will improve the air quality from December 29.

Parts of Delhi recorded cold wave conditions between December 19 and 21, with mercury dropping up to 3.2°C at Safdarjung. Temperatures have since risen in Delhi owing to three successive western disturbances.

While the first western disturbance impacted Delhi on December 22, a second one influenced the region on December 24 and 25. The third spell is predicted to be the strongest, bringing rain in parts of northern India, and expected to bring snowfall in the mountains.

IMD’s forecast for Monday shows shallow to moderate fog, with the maximum and minimum hovering between 10°C and 22°C.