Rains likely, cold wave to end

The six-day spell of cold wave is likely to end in Noida and adjoining regions and rain is likely to fall in the next four days and keep the temperature relatively

The six-day spell of cold wave is likely to end in Noida and adjoining regions and rain is likely to fall in the next four days and keep the temperature relatively low, said officials from the weather department.

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On Friday, the minimum temperatures fell to 1.1 degrees Celsius across the national capital region (NCR), based on the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Safadarjung observatory, six degrees below the season average, against 3.4 degrees Celsius a day earlier. The maximum temperature was 19.2 degrees Celsius, against 20 degrees a day earlier.

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

“The minimum for Noida could not be calculated but we expect the mercury to be around 3 to 4 degrees Celsius and on Saturday it could hover around 6 degrees Celsius, which may pull the region out of cold wave but would still be lower than season’s average,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, IMD.

According to IMD, due to the western disturbance -- a phenomenon that causes snowing in the Himalayan regions and rains in NCR – Noida and surrounding areas could see drizzling over next two days, with light rain on January 4 and 5. This would lead to dissolving the dense fog layers over the region, officials said.

“The wind directions have changed from north-westerly to easterly. While the north-westerly are icy cold, the easterly are warmer, thus the mercury will rise. Also the cloudiness is set to increase over next three days. The clouded sky leads to rise in mercury as the earth radiates at night and clouds help in trapping the heat,” Srivastava added.

The region would however see dense to moderate level of fog on January 2 that would reduce to moderate levels towards January 3 morning due to the rains.

“The rains would lead to rise of the minimum temperatures due to the easterly winds and clouded sky however the maximum may drop slightly be a few degrees,” an IMD official said.