Night temperatures have risen across the Delhi area and clocked, either normal or marginally below normal. The base station at Safdarjung recorded a minimum of 9°C, almost double of yesterday’s minimum of 4.5°C. Yesterday’s coldest places Ayanagar and Pusa also rose significantly to register 6.4°C and 9.9°C, respectively. The airport observatory Palam was the lowest in the region with a minimum of 6.3°C. Cold wave conditions seem to have abated Delhi/NCR, for the time being.
As such, the minimum temperatures of under five degrees are mostly recorded in the second half of December in the national capital. It was way back on Dec 06, 1987 when the lowest temperature of 4.1°C was recorded in the first week of the month. Otherwise, the lowest temperature of the last three decades of 2.4°C was recorded on 30thDec 2013 and 28thDec 2019. This season, the temperatures had unusually dipped to under 5°C in the second week of the month itself. This was courtesy, of early snowfall in Himachal Pradesh breaking records for the last 12 years. Shimla, Manali and the neighbourhood had decent snowfall on 08thDec 2024, rather early for the region. Following this snow, the temperatures dipped in the plains of North India, including Delhi. Under 5°C temperatures still continue at some places in Punjab and Haryana. Amritsar, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Bhatinda, Narnaul and Hisar have all recorded minimum temperatures of below 5°C. Hisar plunged to 1.7°C this morning and the second successive day with a minimum of under 2°C.
The western disturbance has cleared the northern mountains. Following the passage of these systems, the night temperatures normally drop across the plains, including Delhi. However, there is a feeble bubble of circulation in the foothills of Uttarakhand and West Uttar Pradesh. Also, the seasonal anticyclone is getting slightly pushed eastward. This does not leave a conducive state for the national capital to sink the mercury levels beyond 7°C in the next about 3-4 days. Therefore the cold wave may remain abated from Delhi/ NCR for the time being and resume sometime later In the second half of the month.
Image Courtesy: PTI
