Capital City woke up to a foggy morning with a typical biting chill in the air. The record observatory at Safdarjung measured the lowest minimum temperature of the season at 3.9°C which is 3°C below the normal. The meteorological office at Lodhi Road was further lower at 3.6°C. Jafarpur observatory recorded the lowest temperature in the region at 3.2°C, about 4°C below the normal. These mercury levels are the lowest for the season, so far. Along with bitter chill, the visibility also dropped to zero at Palam airport, for nearly five hours between 4 a.m and 8.30 a.m. The horizontal visibility has since improved to 800 mtr, becoming further better.
Earlier, the capital city had recorded the lowest temperature of 4.9°C on 15 Dec 2023. The lowest of Jan 2024 was 5.3°C, measured on 08th Jan. Although, the minimum temperatures have stayed in single digits on almost all the days in January, so far. However, the day temperature lifted significantly yesterday, breaching the 18°C mark for the second time during January, so far. Similar conditions are expected in the coming days, abating cold day conditions, in and around Delhi.
The air traffic at Palam airport was partially hit on account of poor visibility conditions. Though horizontal visibility dropped to Nil for over four hours, the Runway Visual Range (RVR) for the runway in use, stayed close to 150 mtr. This helped facilitate Cat-III operations, limited to the qualified stream of pilots.
A weak western disturbance has arrived as an upper air trough, over Jammu & Kashmir. Another one will follow on 16th Jan. The weather systems will not impact Delhi, except by arresting the fall of minimum temperatures. The day maximum will hover around 18°C and the minimum is likely to swing between 5-7°C. Dense fog in patches will continue to be the highlight during morning hours. Cold wave and cold day conditions will remain abated for the next 4-5 days.
Image Credit: hindustantimes