Dry Weather Conditions To Continue For Delhi: Mercury Dip Likely
Image: AI-Skymet
Key Takeaways
- Delhi’s dry spell persists into December, following a completely dry and cooler-than-normal November.
- Minimum temperatures may dip to 6°–7°C this week but are unlikely to meet cold wave criteria for Delhi.
- Western disturbances will remain weak, limiting weather activity to higher reaches of the Himalayas.
- Cold wave conditions may appear in pockets of Punjab and Haryana even though Delhi may escape them.
Dry spell over Delhi and its suburbs is likely to continue through this week and possibly even thereafter. The month of November was completely dry and slightly colder than normal. The average minimum temperature for the month was 11.4°C against the normal of 13°C. Pan-India, November was also the least rainiest month with an overall deficit of 43% rainfall. Like Delhi, the dry spell will continue over northern, central, and eastern parts till the middle of December.
December is supposed to be much colder than November for Delhi/NCR. As per pentad normal, the month starts with a minimum temperature of 10°C and touches 6°C at the fag end. In recent years, the minimum temperature has shown a trend of reaching 2°–3°C, albeit on only a few days. Over the last three years, the minimum has not fallen to 4°C or less. Last year, the lowest minimum temperature of 4.5°C was recorded on 12 and 16 December.
Cold wave conditions normally develop around the middle of the month or later. Frigid cold in the plains invariably succeeds a decent spell of rain and snow in the mountains. Yesterday, there was a temporary burst of cold air, and the minimum temperature had plummeted to 5.7°C, about 4.6°C below normal and good enough to qualify for cold wave conditions. However, as predicted, such a low temperature could not be sustained and the minimum rose by about 4°C today to settle at 9.6°C at Safdarjung.
There is no active western disturbance likely to influence weather activity in the plains, including Delhi. There is a mild western disturbance as an upper-air system now, and another one is likely to follow on 05 December 2025. However, the extent of weather activity will remain confined to the higher reaches only, and that too in patches. In the rear section of these disturbances, relatively cold air blows down the slopes of the mountains, and that is how the temperature is expected to dip over the national capital. Minimum temperatures are likely to drop to about 6°–7°C during this week. It may not amount to cold wave conditions over Delhi per se, but parts of neighbouring states like Punjab and Haryana will witness these conditions in some pockets.
