New Delhi: A cold wave prevailed in Delhi, with the minimum temperature at the city’s base station, the Safdarjung observatory, settling at 2.4 degrees Celsius.
It was a few degrees warmer than Monday’s low of 1.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest for the month since January 1, 2021.
In some parts of the northern region, foggy weather hampered road and rail travel.
According to a Northern Railways spokesperson, at least 15 trains were delayed by one hour to eight hours due to foggy weather.
The Palam observatory, located near the Indira Gandhi International Airport, recorded a 500-metre visibility level. The weather service defines’very dense fog’ as visibility between zero and 50 metres, ‘dense fog’ as visibility between 51 and 200 meters,’moderate fog’ as visibility between 201 and 500 metres, and’shallow fog’ as visibility between 501 and 1,000 metres.
On January 1, 2021, Safdarjung had a minimum temperature of 1.1 degrees Celsius. On January 8, this year, the temperature dropped to 1.9 degrees Celsius.
On January 16, 1935, an all-time low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius was recorded.
On Tuesday, the weather station on Lodhi Road, which houses the India Meteorological Department (IMD), recorded a minimum temperature of two degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Ayanagar, southwest Delhi, was 2.8 degrees Celsius, the Ridge, central Delhi, was 2.2 degrees Celsius, and Jafarpur, west Delhi, was 2.3 degrees Celsius
According to IMD data, Delhi experienced the second-longest cold spell in a decade from January 5 to 9.
It has also recorded over 50 hours of dense fog this month, which is the most since 2019.
The meteorological office said on Monday that cold wave conditions will end on January 19 as a result of two western disturbances that are expected to hit the region in quick succession.
When a western disturbance — a weather system characterised by warm moist winds from the Middle East — approaches a region, the wind direction shifts.
The chilly northwesterly winds from the mountains stop blowing, causing temperatures to rise.
A cold wave is declared in the plains when the minimum temperature drops to 4 degrees Celsius or when it is 10 degrees Celsius and 4.5 notches below normal.
A severe cold wave occurs when the minimum temperature falls below 2 degrees Celsius or the deviation from normal limits exceeds 6.4 notches.
