Delhi on Thursday recorded this winter season’s coldest morning as the minimum temperature at Safdarjung – the representative weather station of the national capital – dipped to 3 degrees Celsius. According to the morning weather bulletin by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the temperature was a departure of four notches from the normal.
Meanwhile, Ayanagar – which typically records a few degrees lower temperatures, saw the mercury plunge to 2.2 degrees Celsius, the IMD data revealed. The weather station at Ujwa recorded a minimum temperature of 2.3 degrees Celsius, while the same at Lodhi Road and Ridge were at 2.8 degrees Celsius.
Dense fog blanketed the city along with low visibility levels. The IMD in its latest bulletin said that the visibility levels at 5.30am at Palam was 25 metres while at Safdarjung it was 50 metres.
Delhi’s Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 4.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, which was until now the lowest this season. The Met department said that the maximum temperature in the capital is expected to settle at 17 degrees Celsius during the day, which would be an increase of 0.5 degrees Celsius from the day before.
The IMD has issued a cold wave alert in Delhi for the next three days along with continuance of dense fog across or in isolated pockets of the national capital for the next two days.
The Met department declares a ‘cold wave’ in an area when the minimum temperature is 4.5 degrees Celsius or more below the normal mark or when it drops to 4 degrees Celsius or lower. Furthermore, a ‘very dense’ fog is classified when the visibility dips below 50 metres.
The harsh cold conditions have triggered Delhi airport to put out a fog update though it has informed that all flights are currently operating normally. However, as many as 12 trains are running late and two have been rescheduled owing to fog in north India, ANI reported citing the chief public relations officer (CPRO) of Northern Railway.
