Delhi/NCR witnessed the first typical foggy day of the season. Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad were covered with sheets of moderate to dense fog, since the wee hours this morning. Both, the base observatories at Palam and Safdarjung recorded dense to very dense fog in the morning hours. The horizontal visibility at Palam dropped to Nil for about one hour and less than 100mtr for over three hours. Safdarjung also witnessed thick fog with patches of dense fog in pockets, in the early morning hours. Winter fog earlier being reported at Palam, this season was more of a smoke and pollution. Classic fog spread across the plains of North India and Delhi for the first time in this season. However, the runway visual range (RVR) at Palam was fairly good and over 1000mtr and therefore the flying operations may not have been impacted largely.
Earlier, the peaks of Kashmir had witnessed the first snowfall of the season on Monday evening/night. This incident induced little chill in the air, an increase in humidity and a conducive wind pattern to trigger the first foggy day across the northern plains and Delhi/NCR. Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Chandigarh, Ambala recorded dense fog impacting road and air traffic. More of these occasions are likely during this week itself.
Though, thick fog engulfed parts of Delhi/NCR but the typical winter continued to remain in abeyance. The wait for classic winter chill may take longer than expected. The persistent warmth over the national capital has delayed the winters and there is no quick drop in mercury levels likely. The Safdarjung station recorded a minimum of 17°C this morning, about 4°C above the normal. A similar range of temperature was observed over parts of Punjab and Haryana, as well.
Monday's snowfall over the hills was an offshoot of a feeble westerly system. Another western disturbance is following in quick succession and is likely to approach the mid and higher reaches of Kashmir and Ladakh, tonight. This will be a slightly stronger system than the previous one and also last longer, till 16th Nov. The mountain ranges with an elevation of over 12,000 feet can expect another round of snowfall. The lower parts like Srinagar, Banihal and Qazi Gund will get scattered rain and thundershowers. Even the foothills like Jammu, Udhampur, Samba, Pathankot, Amritsar and Chandigarh may get cloudy skies and light rainfall. Delhi is likely to skip this event.
Following the passage of this western disturbance, the cooler winds are likely to blow across the slopes of the mountains and reach the plains of North India, including Delhi. Mercury level is expected to drop marginally over the weekend. Coupled with the seasonal progression of lowering of temperatures, the minimum may dip to about 14°C or even less, early next week. This would be the lowest temperature of this season and also very close to the normal for Delhi.
