One week from now, proud Indians will witness the Republic Day parade down the Raj Path. The national festival will be celebrated with pomp and show and telecast live all through the nation. The celebrations revolve around two major functions which include the morning parade on 26th January and Beating the Retreat on the evening of 29th January. Parade on 26th January is a show of might and strength of defence forces.
Weather is not going to play any spoilsport except for fog and chill during the early part of the ceremony. The minimum temperature in Delhi is expected to be around 5-6°C with a sharp rise after 0900hr. Sun will peep through the misty layer and keep the clouds and rain nowhere near the entire region. Fly Past by the Indian Air Force, the concluding part of this mega event will go through charming and thrilling the crowd.
For the last 15 years or so (since2005), it rained in 2015 during the parade and short spell of light rain in 2017. Barring these 2 incidents, the celebrations have gone through albeit with chill and fog on most occasions. The coldest of all was 26th Jan 2008 with a shivering minimum of 4.1°C. Dense fog prevailed for an extended duration in 2009, 2010 and 2014. Last 2 years (2019 & 2020), weather conditions were mild with shallow fog, clearing early and minimum temperature of 6.8°C and 6.4°C respectively easing out faster.
Beating the Retreat on 29th January marks the end of 4-day long Republic Day celebrations. A military ceremony dating to 17th century (England) was used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castles. The function will be held in front of Rashtrapati Bhavan in the backdrop of Raiseena Hills. There will be no Beating the Treat ceremony at Wagah - Attari border this year as no huge public gathering is permitted due to Coronavirus pandemic.
This year there will be a shorter version of Republic Day parade with fewer jawans in contingent. Instead of the 12x12 contingent system, this year it will be 12x8 contingent system. It means instead of 144 jawans, there will be 96 jawans in the contingent. Besides this, the distance for the march has been reduced by 50%. Moreover, jawans will be seen wearing masks and the parade is likely to end at National Stadium instead of Red Fort.
