Sky to remain overcast, , minimum temperature to rise: IMD

Overcast skies but largely dry weather are in store for Gurugram on Friday and Saturday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday, adding that there is also a chance of rain in isolated parts of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi-NCR owing to a western disturbance in the western Himalayan region

Overcast skies but largely dry weather are in store for Gurugram on Friday and Saturday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday, adding that there is also a chance of rain in isolated parts of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi-NCR owing to a western disturbance in the western Himalayan region.

Gurugram, India-January 19, 2023: A student going to school in pleasant cloudy weather on a cold winter morning at Rajiv chowk near Air force station, in Gurugram, India, on Thursday, 19 January 2023. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

The minimum temperature is likely to rise and there will be no significant change thereafter for the next four days, IMD said.

For the next five days, cold wave conditions are not likely and the weather will improve, the IMD said.

“The weather in south Haryana is likely to remain dry for the next two days but there could be light rain around January 23 and January 24. Sky is likely to remain overcast on Friday and Saturday over Gurugram but clouds over the region are not very dense so chances of rain are thin,” said Manmohan Singh, director, IMD, Chandigarh.

The IMD in Chandigarh said owing to the influence of a western disturbance, as a trough in middle tropospheric levels, isolated light rainfall is likely over north Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on Thursday.

Due to these western disturbances, isolated to scattered rainfall/thundershowers are likely over this region from January 23 to January 26.

South Haryana and adjoining areas are likely to remain relatively dry for the next two days, said Singh.

The maximum temperature in the city on Thursday was recorded at 20.7 degrees Celsius (°C) and the minimum at 5.1°C. The maximum temperature on Wednesday was 17.6°C while the minimum was 2.7°C, as per the IMD data.

The IMD said the minimum temperature was in the range of 2-5°C over parts of Haryana and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Cold wave conditions also prevailed in isolated pockets of south Haryana.

The air quality in the city on Thursday was in the “very poor” category with 24 hour average air quality index (AQI) being recorded at 311. The air quality on Wednesday was in the “poor” category with an average AQI reading of 268.

System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar) on Thursday said the air quality is likely to improve but remain within ”very poor” for the next three days due to increase in temperatures (minimum and maximum) enhancing dilution of pollutants through convection. “Wind flow from south-east direction is expected to improve air quality,” it said.