Delhi plunged to under 5°C for the second consecutive day. The base station at Safdarjung plummeted further to record a minimum of 4.5°C, over 4°C below the normal and the lowest minimum of this season, so far. The cold wave conditions continue in and around Delhi. Pusa and Ayanagar were the lowest in the region with a respective minimum of 3.2°C and 3.8°C, respectively. These temperatures are under 4°C and also about 5°C below the normal, to satisfy both the criteria of cold wave conditions. A similar trend is expected to continue for the next 3 days, till the weekend.
The capital city generally records a cold snap of under five degrees during the second half of December. The cold wave, this season, makes the earliest arrival, since December 6, 1987. The minimum temperature on that day dropped below 5°C to 4.1°C, the earliest ever in the last three decades or even more. Incidentally, the lowest temperature in December last year was 4.9°C recorded on 15 Dec and there were no cold wave conditions during the month. The lowest December temperature for Delhi in the last 15 years was 2.4°C recorded on 30thDec 20213 and 28thDec 2019. The lowest ever temperature of December for Delhi was 0°C recorded on 27thDec 1930.
A western disturbance is moving across the northern mountains and is likely to make an early exit by tomorrow. The system, as such, has no associated weather activity in the plains, including Delhi. Following clearance over the hilly region, the cold winds will strengthen and blow down the slopes of the mountains sweeping plains of Punjab, Haryana, North Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The mercury is likely to plunge further over Delhi/NCR for the next three days. Only shallow fog is expected in some parts and the sky condition will largely remain clear during day and night. This will facilitate the escape of radiation and lead to a drop in the minimum temperatures.