NEW DELHI: If you thought it was difficult to wriggle out of quilts on Saturday, you were right. But make no mistake about Sunday. Here are the figures: The national capital on Saturday recorded the coldest night of this winter for a second day in a row with the minimum dipping to 3 degrees Celsius in Aya Nagar, the last village of Delhi on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road.
The weather department has predicted a cold wave on Sunday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle around 19 and 4 degree Celsius respectively, it added. Considering the two consecutive cold nights and dense fog conditions in Delhi-NCR, the India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert. The ‘red colour warning’ does not mean red alert as per the IMD. All it means is “take action.”
On January 12, the IMD issued a warning saying that Saturday will witness a severe cold wave, which will then get the form of a cold wave on Sunday. Friday night saw the minimum temperature dipping to 3.9 degrees C as cold wave conditions continued. The minimum temperature at Lodhi Road was 3.4 degrees, 3.6 at Safdarjung, 3.9 at Ridge and 5.8 at Palam, the IMD said.
Eighteen Delhi-bound trains have been delayed due to weather-related conditions in many other parts of the country. Also, flight operations were delayed at the Delhi airport due to low visibility amid fog. According to the IMD, the visibility at Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi’s main weather station, was 200 metres at 5:30 am. Visuals showed thick layer of fog over several parts of the national capital on Saturday morning.