Northern Plains Have Early Feel Of Summers: Mercury Rises Sharply
Feb 10, 2025, 1:15 PM | Skymet Weather Team
Rapid Rise in Temperatures Over Northern Plains, Image: Canva
The day temperatures have risen rapidly over the plains of Punjab and Haryana. The ripple effect has extended to West Uttar Pradesh and the national capital, Delhi, as well. The mercury has gone past the mid-20s at many places, rather early in the season, giving a feel of summer-like conditions. West Rajasthan has breached the 30°C mark at places like Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner. The highest in the country, of course, remains limited to the interior peninsula and semi-arid region of Gujarat. Kurnool, Nandyal, Gulbarga, Rajkot and Surendranagar have all exceeded 35°C. Kurnool and Gulbarga are the hottest, with 36.4°C and 36.6°C, respectively.
The chain of western disturbance is moving across the northern mountains in quick succession. The passage of these systems is causing warming in the plains. Insufficient ‘breaks’ in between are not allowing the cool air in the rear of the system to sweep the plains. Presently, a western disturbance is marked over the Jammu & Kashmir and North Pakistan regions. The system will hang around for three days, till 12th Feb 2025. A short break of less than 48 hours and another system is expected to follow.
While the hills are experiencing wintery activity, albeit mild, the plains have remained dry for a sufficiently long duration during this winter season. The absence of clouds and rain and the presence of a fair amount of sunshine have curtailed the winter chill. The locations exceeding a temperature of 25°C include Patiala, Ambala, Una, Delhi, Chandigarh, Meerut and Aligarh. All these locations have temperatures 4°C to 6°C above the normal. Chandigarh city recorded the highest of this season at 27.1°C, nearly 6°C above the average.
The absence of rain and rise in the mercury are giving a feel of early summer. While the night temperatures may not rise sharply, the swing in the day temperatures hints at the shrinking of the winter season over the plains. The month of February will have a mix of pleasant nights and warmer days. Overall, the month may follow the same track as January and figure amongst one of the warmest on record.
