NEW DELHI: Intense chill continued to numb Delhi-NCR, with the mercury at a city station (Ayanagar) dipping to 1.8 degrees Celsius Friday morning, the lowest recorded in the capital this season, as cold wave and severe cold-day conditions persisted in several areas.In Jafarpur, the maximum fell to 11.9 degrees C, again the lowest in the city this winter. However, Safdarjung and several other stations logged a slight rise in temperatures, and visibility improved. Saturday may be overcast. Relief from the bitter cold is likely by Sunday.Western disturbances likely to provide some relief from cold While Delhi-NCR continued to reel under frigid weather, visibility improved on Friday as only two hours of dense fog was recorded. Visibility at Palam was 150 metres between 6am to 8am, against 25 to 50 metres a day earlier. However, about 30 flights were still delayed on Friday morning. Meanwhile, the dense to very dense fog situation elsewhere in northern plains led to delays in 21 Delhi-bound trains on Friday. According to the weather department, foggy conditions may improve from Sunday.Several areas in the city had been facing cold wave, cold day and severe cold-day conditions for the past three days.For the cold-day conditions, the minimum temperature must be below 10 degrees C, along with the maximum temperature being 4.5 degrees below normal. For severe cold-day conditions, the maximum temperature must be 6.5 degrees or more below normal. A cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature is either below four degrees C or the temperature is 4.5 degrees below normal.On Friday, the minimum temperature at city’s base station Safdarjung was recorded at 4 degrees C, three notches below normal against 3 degrees C a day earlier. The maximum temperature was recorded at 16.6 degree Celsius, three below normal, against 16.5 degrees C a day earlier. The maximum and minimum temperatures on Saturday are likely to hover around 18 and 5 degrees C, respectively, the met department said. “The sky will be cloudy tomorrow (Saturday) which may lead to cold-day conditions in some isolated areas, but the cold wave situation will go. From Sunday till the middle of next week (January 11), there should be respite from both cold wave and cold-day conditions,” said R K Jenamani, senior weather scientist at IMD.Experts said the harsh weather of the past few days was mainly on account of frosty northerly and north-westerly winds, as well as foggy conditions. “Northerly winds blew over the region on Friday morning which improved visibility but kept the daytime temperatures down. The wind speed reached 12-15kmph by afternoon. Due to oncoming western disturbances which may start showing its impact from Saturday onwards, the winds direction may change to westerly due to which temperatures may rise. The winds may turn northwesterly again with moderate speeds from January 13, thus the temperatures will drop drastically by January 15 or 16,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice chairman, meteorology and climate change, Skymet.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/mercury-dips-to-1-8-degree-celsius-at-delhi-station-met-says-relief-likely-by-sunday/articleshow/96802721.cms