Delhi: February Starts On A Dry Note: Weather Conditions To Improve This Week
Key Takeaways:
- Dense fog reduced visibility to 100 m at Palam Airport, delaying nearly 200 flights
- CAT-III operations ensured no cancellations or diversions
- Day temperatures stayed around 5°C below normal, resembling cold-day conditions
- Fog intensity expected to reduce gradually with improving sunshine
- Chance of light winter rain early next week
Delhi/NCR witnessed dense fog for the second consecutive day. Dense fog shrouded Palam Airport, with horizontal visibility dropping to a mere 100 metres from midnight till 9:00 a.m. today. However, the Runway Visual Range (RVR) was better and consistently remained above 150 metres for all runways. CAT-III operations were put in place to improve landing and take-off operations.
No flights were diverted or cancelled, but traffic congestion delayed nearly 200 flights between midnight and morning hours. Visibility has now improved to around 700 metres, and RVR has increased to nearly 1,500 metres. Although visibility was poorer than yesterday, improvement was faster. Air operations are expected to remain normal through the day.
The base station Safdarjung recorded a maximum temperature of 17.5°C, about 5°C below the average, while Palam was slightly lower at 16.9°C, nearly 5.2°C below normal. Environmental conditions were close to a ‘cold day’ but are expected to improve today. The envelope of fog will lift early, allowing better sunshine. Day temperatures are likely to rise and reach around 19°–20°C.
Western Disturbance-related weather activity will remain confined to the hills. Delhi is likely to witness a drop in minimum temperatures over the next three days. Single-digit minimum temperatures are likely, though no sharp fall is expected. Surface winds will become stronger, increasing the chill factor. Fog layers are expected to become thinner tomorrow, allowing day temperatures to rise into the low 20s after mid-week. Overall, weather conditions are likely to improve during the week. Though it is early to say, a short spell of winter rain is quite likely at the beginning of next week.
