Cold wave: Delhi engulfed in a blanket of fog; Palam records 7 degrees minimum temperature

Cold wave in Delhi: Delhiites woke up to foggy skies as temperatures dropped in Delhi’s Palam and Safdarjung. The minimum temperature in Palam stood at 7 degrees Celsius whereas Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 7.8 degrees Celsius, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). 

The Met Department also predicted cold day/severe cold day conditions in Delhi, parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and West Rajasthan, and cold day conditions in isolated pockets of Uttarakhand for the next few days. 

The Met Department said in its bulletin, “Due to prevailing light wind and high moisture in lower tropospheric levels, dense to very dense fog is very likely to continue over some parts of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, and West Rajasthan during the next 48 hours.”

Skymet’s Mahesh Palawat told the news agency PTI that the wind chill factor is also high. The wind chill factor is a measure of the rate of heat loss from skin exposed to air. 

Meanwhile, visibility in the Palam area has improved from 50 metres since 03: 30 am to 100 metres at 07:30 am and is likely to improve further during the next two hours. 

On Monday, the temperature dropped to 3 degrees Celsius in the Ridge area, 4.9 degrees below normal. Both Ridge and Ayangar weather stations reported a minimum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius and 4.1 degrees Celsius respectively. Safdarjung observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 5 degrees Celsius whereas the Palam observatory logged a minimum temperature of 6.5 degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 12.5 degrees Celsius. 

The IMD declares a cold wave when the minimum temperature hits 4 degrees Celsius. The Met Department also declares a cold wave when the minimum temperature hits 10 degrees Celsius or below normal. A severe cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature hits two degrees Celsius or the departure from normal is more than 6.4 degrees Celsius. 

(With agency inputs)

Also read: Cold wave update: Trains cancelled, schools shut as Delhi, nearby states shiver; 10 points

Also read: Cold wave hits Delhi-NCR; minimum temperature falls to 3 degree Celsius in Ridge area