Mercury dips slightly but city may escape cold wave

The city experienced a perceptible nip in the air on Thursday, due a slight dip in the minimum and maximum temperatures

The city experienced a perceptible nip in the air on Thursday, due a slight dip in the minimum and maximum temperatures. However, officials said that the city may escape the cold wave conditions, which is currently being recorded in other parts of Delhi-NCR.

HT Image

Gurugram recorded a minimum temperature of 6.2 degrees Celsius on Thursday, down from 6.6 degrees Celsius the previous day. The maximum temperature stood at 18.6 degrees Celsius, which was lower than the 20.3 degrees Celsius recorded a day prior.

The city remained relatively warmer than neighbouring Delhi, where cold day conditions, which occur when the minimum temperature dips below 4 degrees Celsius, were observed in some parts. The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Safdarjung observatory, for instance, recorded a minimum temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday and a maximum of 19.4 degrees Celsius.

As per IMD’s forecast for the next week, cold wave conditions will continue to be felt in isolated pockets across Delhi-NCR until January 31, with moderate to dense fog during early morning hours as a result. “We have issued an orange alert for cold wave over Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan until January 30. This includes Delhi and Chandigarh. Friday onward, we will downgrade it to a yellow alert if the temperature does not fall sharply across the region,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the IMD’s regional forecasting centre in Delhi.

Gurugram, however, may escape the cold wave, with official forecast for the city predicting a minimum temperature of not less than 5 degrees Celsius till January 30. The minimum temperature is expected to start rising from January 31 and settle around 8 degrees Celsius by February 3. The maximum temperature, meanwhile, is expected to remain at 19 degrees Celsius until January 31 and will rise to 23 degrees Celsius by February 3.

This forecast is in contrast with that of Delhi’s, where cold wave conditions (with minimum temperature as low as 3 degrees Celsius) are expected in some areas. “Dry, cold winds have been sweeping across north India and their chilling effect will be felt for at least another three to four days. It’s hard to say which parts will be affected, but the cold wave will happen in small pockets and not uniformly across north India,” said Srivastava.

Air quality in the city remained in the very poor category of the Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index (AQI) bulletin, with an index value of 334 on Thursday. “This may be due to the fall in the temperature as well as slower wind speeds during the day. There won’t be much of a change in the situation until February, when warmer conditions will help with faster dispersal of pollutants,” said Sachin Panwar, a city-based independent air quality scientist.

As per the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, “Air quality will remain largely very poor for the subsequent five days.”