As forecast by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, minimum temperatures in the plains of North India have dropped a good deal.
Update on December 11
The national capital Delhi saw the minimum plummet to 6.6°C on Thursday morning, which is 2 degrees below the normal average.
Similar temperatures were also observed at many places in Punjab and Haryana. Amritsar in Punjab recorded 3.5°C as the minimum temperature on Thursday morning, which is 2 degrees below the normal for the month. Patiala saw the minimum settle 1 degree below the normal at 6°C. In Ludhiana the minimum was 4°C, 3 degrees below the average, while Kapurthala recorded 4.2°C as the minimum temperature.
Haryana too recorded some bone chilling temperatures. Hisar saw the minimum settle at 4.4°C on Thursday morning, which is 4 degrees below the normal. Narnaul and Karnal also recorded 2.5°C and 5.2°C as the minimum temperatures, respectively, which is 4 degrees below the monthly average.
The minimum temperatures will maintain till the spell of rain expected during weekend. After the rain happens, the minimums will rise marginally but the maximums will observe a drop due to clouding.
Update on December 10:
In one of our recent articles, we had said that December started on a warm note in Delhi, which was exactly the case till a couple of days back. In fact most parts of North India, barring the hilly regions were also observing marginally above normal temperatures. But in the last couple of days, the temperatures have dropped throughout the plains of North India including Delhi.
The above normal minimums in the national capital have dropped to settle in the normal range, giving that slight chill in the city. The cold has actually been missing in Delhi since the start of winter in November, but the coming days are going to be different. Delhi recorded 8.6°C as the minimum temperature on Wednesday Morning, a drop of about 2 degrees from December 8.
Similarly, Punjab and Haryana have also been observing a drop in Minimums. The night temperatures at some places here have dropped by 4-5 degrees. Ludhiana in Punjab saw the minimum settle at 2.7°C on Wednesday morning, which is 4 degrees below the normal. Other places in Punjab to have recorded drop in minimums are Pathankot 3.8°C, Jalandhar 4.2°C, Kapurthala 4.6°C and Chandigarh 5.2°C. For the first time minimums in Punjab have settled below 5°C at most places this season.
Haryana too has been observing a decent drop in minimum temperatures in the last 2-3 days. Hisar on Wednesday morning recorded 3.1°C as the minimum temperature, which is 5 degrees below normal. Karnal saw the minimum settle at 5°C, which is 2 degrees below the minimum recorded a day earlier. Ambala and Sirsa also recorded minimums of 6.7°C and 5.7°C, respectively.
The maximums too have been observing a drop and are recording below 25 degrees in most places of North India. This has made the weather even colder, especially in Punjab where day temperatures are settling at 23°C on an average.
Meanwhile, there is forecast of rain in North India from the Night of December 12. Rainfall is expected to increase in intensity and become more widespread by December 13-14. The hilly states of North India, north Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, west Uttar Pradesh and Delhi will be the main regions to receive rain. This is when the minimums will rise marginally and maximums will drop. But the chill is going to remain.
One thing that will become prominent after the spell of rain ends on December 14, is fog. Due to rain the humidity will increase and the dry cold northwesterlies coming from the hills will make it a perfect condition for formation of fog in the region.
