Mercury drops to 3.6 degrees, ‘feels like’ 2 °C in Delhi

‘Cold wave’ to ‘severe cold wave’ conditions have set in over several parts of northwest India on Tuesday with Delhi’s Lodhi Road and Ayanagar recording temperatures

‘Cold wave’ to ‘severe cold wave’ conditions have set in over several parts of northwest India on Tuesday with Delhi’s Lodhi Road and Ayanagar recording temperatures of 2.7 and 2.6 degrees Celsius respectively. The Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the official marker for the city, recorded temperature of 3.6 degrees Celsius.

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Though, the minimum temperature was pegged at 3.6 degrees Celsius, on Tuesday morning the “feel like” temperature was as low as 2 degrees Celsius, weather scientists said. This is mainly because of strong, chilly winds blowing at 15 to 20 kmph, which makes the perception of cold stronger. The maximum temperature on Tuesday was 18.1 degree C, two degrees below normal.

The ‘feels like’ temperature takes into account wind speeds and humidity to assess how the human body actually feels temperature. “For example, in winter a strong wind can feel much colder than the measured temperature would indicate. Conversely on a humid day in summer, it can feel uncomfortably hotter than the air temperatures would suggest on their own,” explains the UK Met Office.

“Severe cold wave was recorded in many parts of Punjab and Haryana and cold wave conditions were recorded in Delhi. Extremely cold winds from snow-clad Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are reaching the plains now. The average wind speed was around 15 kmph in Delhi, which increased the feeling of chill so the feels like temperature was around 2 degrees Celsius. Minimum temperatures will be low for the next two days and may even dip further,” said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre.

There is likely to be relief from January 1, when minimum temperature is likely to rise to around 5 degrees Celsius and to around 7 degrees Celsius on January 2 and 3, Shrivastava said. A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the Western Himalayan region around January 4, which may bring light rain and thundershowers to the plains including Delhi.

Under the influence of the strengthening of cold and dry northwesterly/ northerly lower-level winds, minimum temperatures are likely to fall by about 2 degrees Celsius over most parts of northwest and Central India during next 3 days and rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius thereafter for subsequent 3 days (January 1 to 3). ‘Cold wave’ to ‘severe cold wave’ conditions are likely in many parts over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch in the next 3-4 days according to IMD’s Tuesday bulletin.

‘Cold wave’ conditions are very likely over Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha during December 30 to January 1. Dense to very dense fog is very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttarakhand during the next 3-4 days.

A cold wave occurs in plains when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and/or is 4.5 notches lesser than the season’s normal for two consecutive days. Cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is less than 4 degrees Celsius in the plains.

Ground frost conditions are likely over north Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi during the next 2 days.

“Many parts of northwest India are reaching the freezing point. We are expecting December 31 to be the coldest. Around January 2, a cyclonic circulation is likely to form over south Rajasthan and anticyclone over Chhattisgarh and Odisha. A confluence zone is likely to develop over Madhya Pradesh and east Rajasthan which is likely to bring rain to Punjab, Haryana and Delhi,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president, climate change and meteorology, Skymet Weather.

Highest weather station in India:

• IMD established a meteorological centre in Leh in Ladakh on Tuesday. At 3500 m, it’s the highest met center in India.

• Being located on a strategically important Western Himalayan region bordering China, Pakistan, Tibet and Afghanistan, IMD will be reporting daily weather parameters from the region.

• Ladakh has a complex mountain terrain with little annual precipitation of only 10 cm/year making it a cold desert.

• It often faces extreme weather events like cloud bursts, flash floods, glacial lake outbursts(GLOFs), avalanche, drought etc leading to loss of life and property.

• Examples include severe cloud burst in August 2010 and 2015, avalanche at Khardongla Pass in Jan 2019 and frequent blockage of Leh-Manali and Leh- Srinagar Highways due to heavy snowfall on passes.

• Meteorological (Met) Center at Leh is established to strengthen weather related early warning system in Ladakh.

• To begin with, IMD has established a surface observatory at Leh for reporting daily meteorological parameters like pressure, humidity, temperature, snowfall, etc.

• At present Ladakh has got 4 Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), two each in both districts of which one is at Drass, the coldest place in India. Real Time weather data is available online on IMD website.

• To improve the network of observations, IMD proposes to install more weather stations next year at the remotest of places like Nubra, Zanskar, Changthang, Parkachik, etc. thus covering the whole of Ladakh.