No respite from chill as minimum temperature expected to drop sharply

The city got some respite from the cold on Monday morning, with the day’s minimum temperature rising to 8

The city got some respite from the cold on Monday morning, with the day’s minimum temperature rising to 8.3 degrees Celsius — up from 6.2 degrees Celsius the day prior. The respite, however, was only momentary as chilly conditions returned during the day. Gurugram’s maximum temperature settled at 16.3 degrees Celsius — down from 19.2 degrees Celsius the day prior.

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As per official forecast, a cold wave is soon expected to pass over the region, with minimum temperature expected to dip by more than half of Monday’s reading.

As per the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) seven-day forecast for Gurugram, the minimum temperature is expected to plunge to about 4 degrees Celsius by January 28 and later rising to about 7 degrees Celsius on January 31.

Dry northwesterly winds are likely to pick up pace from January 25 and persist for at least the next three or four days over north India, officials said on Monday. “The recent western disturbance which passed over Jammu and Kashmir last week is now making its way further northeast, and it will continue to have a cooling effect over Delhi-NCR for a few days,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the IMD’s regional forecasting centre in Delhi.

The IMD on Monday also warned that “cold wave to severe cold wave conditions” may be felt, between January 25 to January 27, in isolated pockets over Punjab and Haryana. The IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius, while a severe cold wave is declared when the minimum drops to 2 degrees Celsius or less.

The maximum temperature, on the other hand, is expected to remain between 16 to 17 degrees Celsius until January 28. After this, days are expected to be warmer, with a maximum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius forecasted on January 31.

Air quality in Gurugram on Monday improved slightly, settling at 280 (poor) on the CPCB’s daily air quality index (AQI) bulletin. This is down from 300 the previous day, which is just one index point short of the “very poor” AQI category. As per the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, no significant improvement in air quality is expected over the next five days. “The air quality is likely to remain largely in the very poor category,” stated Monday’s bulletin.