Cold wave conditions, dense fog prevails in city, relief likely from Sunday

Severe cold wave conditions prevailed throughout the day in Gurugram on Friday with the city recording the season’s lowest minimum temperature of 3

Severe cold wave conditions prevailed throughout the day in Gurugram on Friday with the city recording the season’s lowest minimum temperature of 3.1 degrees Celsius (°C)on Friday. Heavy fog was witnessed in the morning and evening and visibility remained low for much of the day. The extremely cold weather conditions kept people confined to their homes. The maximum temperature in the city was 13.3°C, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Gurugram, India-January 06, 2023: Commuters are seen wearing warm clothes while riding the two-wheelers on a cold winter and foggy night at Gurugram-Sohna elevated road near Rajiv chowk, in Gurugram, India, on Friday, 06 January 2023. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

The IMD, however, said the cold wave conditions will abate from Saturday evening and temperatures will increase gradually. The weather department said on Friday that in the next 24 hours, dense to very dense fog will be observed in the city and cold wave conditions will prevail.

Manmohan Singh, director, IMD Chandigarh, said two western disturbances are approaching the city in quick succession, and due to them, minimum temperature is likely to rise gradually by three to five degrees over the next three days. “Dense to very dense fog will prevail on Friday night and Saturday evening but due to western disturbances, weather will improve and cold conditions will abate thereafter. The temperature will rise from Sunday and conditions will improve,” he said.

The weather, he said, will remain dry, adding that residents must take precautions against the cold and venture out with care during the early morning and evening hours.

The IMD in Delhi said the minimum temperatures were in the range of 1°C to 5°C across the plains of northwest India. The lowest minimum temperature of 0.0°C was observed in Bikaner. Dense to very dense fog was observed in most parts of Punjab, Haryana and in some areas of wastern Uttar Pradesh, it said.

City residents braving the chill said they remained indoors throughout the day, and used heaters to keep warm as cold winds were blowing. Sanajay Kumar, who had come to Civil Lines for a public event, said the weather was freezing and it was very difficult to move out in the open. “Gurugram and Delhi are colder than some hill stations and that is surprising. We are hoping weather will improve soon,” he said.

The IMD in Chandigarh said shallow fog will prevail in most parts of the state whereas dense fog and cold weather conditions will prevail in isolated places.

The air quality in the city on Friday was in the “very poor” category with 24-hour average air quality index remaing at 354.