NEW DELHI: Delhi residents wrapped themselves up in woollens more tightly on Tuesday as the minimum temperature in the city fell below that of Dharamsala, Dehradun and Nainital. The minimum temperature in the national capital was on Tuesday recorded at 5.6* C, one notch below the average for this time of year. The respective readings for Dehradun, Dharamsala and Nainital were 7* C, 6.2* C, and 7.2* C.
The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi’s primary weather station, registered a maximum temperature of 17.2* C, three notches below the normal for this season, according to the India Meteorological Department. The visibility was lowered to 50 metres, while the humidity was recorded at 97% at 8:30 am and 70% at 5:30 pm.
On Monday, the Safdarjung station marked a maximum temperature of 15.6* C, six notches below average and the lowest day temperature in December since December 17, 2020. The observatories at Ayanagar, Palam, Ridge, Jafarpur, Pitampura and Lodhi Road recorded Tuesday’s minimum temperatures at 4* C, 5.6* C, 4.4* C, 5.7* C, 8.7* C and 5.2* C, respectively.
Delhi clocked a top wind speed of 16kmph on Tuesday. The windchill factor is based on wind speed — the higher the wind speed during cold weather, the colder it feels on the skin if a person is outside. Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather, said a western disturbance led to a fresh spell of snowfall in the mountains on December 25-26 and cold northwesterly winds are sweeping through the plains after its retreat.
Dense to very dense fog also prevailed in NCR on Tuesday. Palawat said cold wave conditions would abate from Wednesday. However, the relief is likely to be short-lived. In the plains, a cold wave is when the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 100* C below normal and the maximum temperature is at least 4.5* C below normal. A severe cold wave is when the maximum temperature is 6.5* C or more below normal.