Mercury up for 3rd straight day in Delhi, but the freeze may be back soon

Delhi’s air quality a notch but stayed in the very poor range with a value of 306, according to Central Pollution Control Board’s national bulletin at 4pm

Following light rain across northern plains and fresh snowfall in the mountains under the influence of a western disturbance, coldwave conditions are likely to return to Delhi from January 1, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The Met dept warned of a cold wave from January 1. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

Temperatures had gradually been rising in Delhi over the last three days. On Thursday, the maximum temperature settled at 23.7 degrees – three notches above normal, as the capital bathed in sunlight during the day. And, the minimum was recorded at 7 degrees, which is around normal for this time of the year, according to IMD data.

The Met department, however, has issued a ‘yellow’ alert, warning coldwave conditions in Delhi from January 1 to January 4, which may see the minimum drop once again to 4 degrees at Safdarjung, and even lower in other parts of Delhi. The lowest minimum for any station so far in Delhi has been recorded at 3 degrees at Ridge station on Sunday.

Officials said that it may drop even further.

“Several places in Punjab and Jammu Kashmir witnessed drizzle during the day on Thursday, and snowfall has also been recorded in some mountains. We will begin to see the impact of fresh snowfall from Friday night itself and a gradual drop in temperature is expected. Both the maximum and minimum have increased significantly in the last two days,” said RK Jenamani, IMD scientist.

“Depending on the extent of the snow and how strong the wind speed is, the dip in temperature may take two to three days, or it may drop significantly by December 31. We are monitoring the impact of the western disturbance, but so far, the model suggests that its impact over Delhi-NCR will be seen from January 1,” he added.

IMD has issued a yellow alert for Friday, warning of dense fog in the morning.

A yellow alert is the first among a set of alerts issued by the IMD to alert the public of a weather phenomenon. It is upgraded to an orange alert, if adverse weather is expected, asking the public to be be prepared, while a red alert is the most stringent, forecasting extreme weather and the public to be most cautious.

The IMD declares a ‘coldwave’ in a region, when the minimum temperature is 4.5 degrees or more below the normal mark, or when it drops to 4 degrees or lower.

Delhi’s maximum has been gradually rising since Monday, when it was at the season’s lowest of 15.6 degrees. It was 17.2 degrees on Tuesday and 21.8 degrees on Wednesday. The minimum too has risen from 5 degrees on Monday to 5.6 on Tuesday and 6.3 degrees on Wednesday.

Forecasts show that Delhi’s maximum temperature is expected to dip to around 21 degrees, while the minimum will be closer to 8 degrees on Friday.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality a notch but stayed in the very poor range with a value of 306, according to Central Pollution Control Board’s national bulletin at 4pm. Delhi recorded an AQI of 321 (very poor) on Wednesday. Forecasts show Delhi’s AQI is likely to remain ‘very poor’ till the end of the year.