NEW DELHI: With most of the northern parts covered in a thick blanket of fog, the IMD in afresh notice has issued a red alert across the northern belt predicitng severe cold wave that according to the weather watchdog will last until Monday. An orange alert for the day, forecasting both coldwave and cold day conditions has been issued for the national capital.
“Coldwave conditions are continuing, as fresh snowfall has been recorded in the higher reaches and cold northwesterly winds are blowing towards the plains. Night time temperature is dipping rapidly, particularly when fog is still shallow,” said a MeT official, stating a gradual rise in mercury can be expected in the next 48 hours, however, the mercury will remain below normal.
Safdarjung in the National Capital on Sunday morning woke up to shivering temperatures of 1.9 degrees that are expected to continue until Monday with minimum temperature drop expected to be around 3 degrees Celsius. It recorded a temperature of 2.2 degrees which was considered as the seasons lowest so far prior to Sunday. This is Delhi’s lowest minimum in two years since 1.1 degrees Celsius was recorded on January 1, 2021, and the joint-second lowest in the last 15 years.
Delhi also recorded ‘very dense’ to ‘dense’ fog on Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday, with dense fog at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport for seven hours between 2:30 am and 9:30 am, leading to a delay of over 50 flights, according to airport authorities. Similarly, 42 trains were delayed, northern railway data showed.
This is the fourth consecutive coldwave day for Delhi. A coldwave is declared in the region when the minimum temperature is 4.5 degrees or more below the normal mark, or when it drops to 4 degrees or lower