Hint of early winter? Min temperature drops 5 degrees below normal on Sunday

Indicating the early onset of winter, the minimum temperature in Delhi dropped to 11.4 degree Celsius -- 5 degrees below normal -- on Sunday morning, as cold winds from the Himalayas brought the mercury down in many parts of northwest India.

Indicating the early onset of winter, the minimum temperature in Delhi dropped to 11.4 degree Celsius -- 5 degrees below normal -- on Sunday morning, as cold winds from the Himalayas brought the mercury down in many parts of northwest India.

Morning walkers at a Delhi park on Sunday. (PTI photo)

This October was the coldest Delhi has experienced in 58 years, with the mean minimum temperature for the month at 17.2 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had said on Saturday. November also started on a very cold note suggesting colder days ahead.

“A western disturbance is impacting the higher reaches of the Himalayas. The minimum temperature has dipped because of that. Colder conditions are likely this month,” said K Sathi Devi, head, National Weather Forecasting Centre.

The long-range forecast for the next two weeks also suggests below normal temperatures over north India according to IMD Pune. “Western disturbances normally bring down temperatures but temporarily till the system ceases to impact the region. The long-range forecast suggests minimum temperature will be below normal till around November 12. Overall, La Nina years are also associated with colder winters which may be also having an impact. Though it starts getting cold from November, in the northern hemisphere December, January, February are the winter months,” explained DS Pai, senior scientist, IMD Pune.

El Niño and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a periodic fluctuation in sea surface temperature and the air pressure of the overlying atmosphere across the equatorial Pacific Ocean according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

ENSO has a major influence on weather and climate patterns such as heavy rains, floods and drought. El Niño has a warming influence on global temperatures, whilst La Niña has the opposite effect. In India for example, El Nino is associated with drought or weak monsoon while La Nina is associated with strong monsoon and above average rains and colder winters.

IMD is likely to issue a winter forecast later this month.

The Regional Meteorological Centre, Delhi said minimum temperatures are likely to range between 10 to 12 degrees Celsius for the next three to four days. “There are no cold wave conditions yet but if the minimum temperature falls below 10 degrees with a departure of 4.5 degrees Celsius then cold wave conditions will set in. There was snowfall and rainfall in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday and Sunday. But there has been light snowfall so far,” explained Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre.

He added that farm fires are impacting Delhi’s air quality because of northwesterly winds but wind speed is moderate over 10 kmph.

Minimum temperature dipped by 1 degee Celsius each in Shimla, which recorded a minimum temperature of 10.7 degrees Celsius, Chandigarh at 13.6 degrees and Amritsar at 11.4 degrees.