Rain, winds and shivering in freezing capital as temperature goes down

Day temperatures are likely to remain low till January 9, as more rainfall is predicted, said officials in the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Commuters (top) battle the rain and cold with umbrellas and shawls; vehicles ply on the NH9 amid  a thick layer of fog on a cold winter day at ITO. (Photo | Parveen Negi/EPS)
Commuters (top) battle the rain and cold with umbrellas and shawls; vehicles ply on the NH9 amid a thick layer of fog on a cold winter day at ITO. (Photo | Parveen Negi/EPS)

NEW DELHI: With light rain and good winds, Delhi recorded it’s coldest day of the season on Wednesday with the maximum temperature dropping to 15.7 degrees Celsius — four notches below normal for this time of the year.

Day temperatures are likely to remain low till January 9, as more rainfall is predicted, said officials in the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

According to IMD officials, the Safdarjung Observatory on Wednesday recorded maximum temperature of 15.7 degrees Celsius — making it the coldest day of the season.

The minimum, however, settled at 10.9 degrees, four notches above normal.

Previously, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 17.8 degrees C on December 19, 2021 — which was the lowest maximum the season saw until Wednesday.

Also, Safdarjung, the base station for Delhi, received 7.3 mm rainfall in the day.

Palam weather station received 6.1 mm rainfall while Lodhi Road received 6 mm, Ridge received 5.8 mm and Ayanagar received 4.8 mm rainfall.

“The rain and winds are mainly on account of an intense Western Disturbance (WD) affecting the Western Himalayan Region, showing its impact on the northern plains. There is heavy snowfall and rains in the hilly regions including J&K, Uttarakhand, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh because of the WD,” said a senior IMD official.

RK Jenamani, senior IMD scientist, said more rainfall in the northern plains is likely, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, parts of Rajasthan and UP.

“The WD is impacting entire northwest. It is likely to result in low day temperatures till January 9,” he said.

Mahesh Palawat, VP, Skymet, a private weather forecaster, also said that WD has caused snowfall in hilly regions, and while Haryana and Punjab are receiving good showers, Delhi can only expect scattered rainfall.

“Many places in northwest India to witness cold day conditions. Light intermittent rain with cloudy to overcast skies to persist in Delhi while there might be moderate rainfall in parts of the city on 6-7 January,” he said.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) at 397 remained in the very poor zone. Officials expect major improvement between January 6-9.

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