Winter chill likely to abate post Feb 13: Experts

Winter chill is likely to abate post February 13 as both day and night temperatures in the city would inch closer to normal, according to weather experts.

Winter chill is likely to abate post February 13 as both day and night temperatures in the city would inch closer to normal, according to weather experts.

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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted cold wave conditions around Monday as the minimum temperature over the next two days is likely to be around 5 or 6 degrees Celsius against a normal of 10 degrees Celsius. However, this cold wave spell is likely the last this winter, IMD experts said, adding that the minimum temperature is likely to stay around or above 10 degrees Celsius most days this month.

A cold wave is declared when a meteorological subdivision sees a minimum temperature of fewer than 4 degrees Celsius below normal in at least two stations for two days.

“Winter chill and cold conditions in the national capital region (NCR) will abate from February 13-14 as the minimum temperature will rise to 10-11 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature around the same period will increase to 24-25 degrees Celsius,” Mahesh Palawat, vice-president, climate change and meteorology, Skymet Weather, a private weather forecast agency, said.

He added that by late February, the minimum temperature is likely to rise further to 15-16 degrees Celsius, unlike last year when cold conditions lasted longer than usual, with late February and early March also recording an average minimum temperature of 11 degrees Celsius.

Experts said cold northwesterly winds had continued longer than usual last year, leading to low temperatures. The upcoming cold wave is also due to the northwesterly winds blowing from the mountains to the northern plains, Kuldeep Srivastava, senior scientist at the IMD, said.

December, January, and February are considered the official winter months by the IMD. From March, the wind pattern starts changing, paving way for the summer season, as per experts. IMD data since 2012 shows that night temperature hovers between 13 and 15 degrees Celsius in the last week of February in the city.

The minimum temperature on Saturday rose to 7 degrees Celsius from 6.2 degrees Celsius on Friday, according to IMD data. The maximum temperature too rose to 21 degrees Celsius on Saturday from 19.7 degrees Celsius on Friday. Both the minimum and maximum temperatures on Saturday were two degrees below normal. The maximum temperature is expected to be around 22 degrees Celsius on Sunday, as per IMD officials.

On Saturday, air quality in Gurugram was ‘poor’, with a reading of 222 on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) air quality index (AQI) bulletin at 4pm.

Air quality is likely to be in the ‘poor’ category for the next three days as wind speeds are expected to remain sluggish, between 6 to 10kmph, a CPCB official said. It is unlikely that air quality will improve significantly the next week as similar weather conditions are expected to continue, the official said.