Cold wave to fade with approaching western disturbance in Delhi

The chill could return after the western disturbance passes over and the north-westerly winds start flowing again.

The mercury level in Delhi, which had dropped to 4 degrees, resulting in the first cold wave of the season, is likely to increase by a degree or two from Sunday. On Saturday, however, Delhi could experience another cold wave.

A man warms himself during cold winter morning, at Karol Bagh in New Delhi, India, (HT File)

“A western disturbance is approaching and the wind direction could change. The north-westerly winds that were bringing in the chill from hilly regions of north India will give way to warmer easterly and southeasterly winds. This could push up the mercury level to up to 6 degrees Celsius from Sunday,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the regional weather forecasting centre (RWFC).

The chill could return after the western disturbance passes over and the north-westerly winds start flowing again.

On Thursday, Delhi encountered the first cold wave of the season after the night temperature dropped to 4 degrees Celsius. It increased to 4.7 degrees Celsius on Friday. That was three degrees below normal. The temperature is likely to remain around 4 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

The maximum temperature, which was hovering above 22 degrees Celsius on Thursday, dropped to around 20.6 degrees on Friday, which was one degree below normal.

With high moisture in the air and a dip in mercury, pollution levels continued to reel in the very poor zone. On Friday the Air Quality Index (AQI) value was 386, which was 14 notches below the severe zone. It was 394 on Thursday.

Government agencies have forecast that the air quality could deteriorate on Saturday. Chances are, however, less that it would enter the severe category.

“The high moisture level could trigger some shallow to moderate fog over the next few days, but chances of any dense fog are less,” said a scientist from RWFC.