Cold wave grips Noida as city sees season’s coldest day

Noida: Noida saw the coldest day of the season yet on Tuesday, with the minimum temperature dropping to 8 degrees Celsius. According to weather analysts, the mercury

Noida: Noida saw the coldest day of the season yet on Tuesday, with the minimum temperature dropping to 8 degrees Celsius. According to weather analysts, the mercury is expected to drop further in the coming days.

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The region is experiencing two conditions – cold wave and cold day – at the same time as both, the minimum and maximum temperatures are falling. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts Wednesday to be even colder as the mercury is set to drop by another degree.

The maximum temperature for Noida was recorded at 17.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday against 15.5 degrees a day earlier. On Monday, the minimum temperature for Noida had been recorded at 8.8 degrees Celsius. So far, November 23 was the coldest day of the season, with a minimum temperature of 8.2 degrees Celsius. The humidity during the morning hours is 100%, as per the IMD.

Meanwhile, the average minimum for Delhi-NCR, based on data from the Safdarjung observatory, was recorded 4.1 degrees Celsius, also the season’s lowest, with the IMD predicting Wednesday to see mercury drop to as low as 3 degrees Celsius.

“Both the cold wave and cold day conditions will prevail in the region till Friday, December 18. This is because the winds are directly entering NCR from the northern Himalayan states, which have received a fresh and heavy batch of snowfall. The icy cold winds will keep entering the region and the mercury may drop a degree further,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, IMD.

Cold wave is a condition when the minimum temperatures are about 4.5 degrees below the season’s normal, while cold day is a condition when the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees below the season’s average.

According to the weather department, the fog is over the upper surface that is blocking the sunlight, thereby impacting the maximum temperatures, leading to cold conditions.

“Usually the fog is below the surface but currently, due to stronger winds, fog has reached 300 to 400 metres above the surface, which is blocking the sunlight. This is the reason that the maximum temperatures have been impacted as well. The cold conditions will continue for another four days and there will be some rise in mercury after December 18. But the cold conditions will prevail till January,” said Srivastava.