It is the start of February and you are already feeling hot. The sun is sharp and you have started to switch to lighter jackets. So while most of us assume winter is over in Delhi and North India, here’s what our weathermen say, “No, not at all! We reiterate, winter isn't over and we shouldn't mistake this warm weather in Delhi to be the end of the winter season. Though, it is true that the weather in Delhi, both in terms of minimums and maximums, will not be too cold now.”
And this is what the records show : the minimum temperature in Delhi has been maintaining around 10⁰C from 21st of January, with just about a day or two in between, when the minimums settled in the range of 6 to 8⁰C. “The average minimum temperature in Delhi in January end and February is 8 to 9⁰C. Therefore minimums recording a little higher than the average is a little uncommon but not very unusual”, explained the meteorologist.
The maximums in Delhi also indicate a warmer picture. The day temperatures have been settling above 21⁰C since the 28th of January. On four days i.e. 28th, 29th, 30th January and 2nd of February maximums touched 24⁰C. Yesterday, on the 3rd of February, the maximum recorded 27⁰C - warmest during this season - which is 4 to 5 notches above the normal average. “Consistent weather coupled with clear skies and sunny afternoons have lead to maximums rising in the last few days. However, this does not imply that winter is over. There have been incidents of maximums touching 30⁰C in the month of January in the previous years”, said a senior weather official at Skymet Weather.
Forecast at Skymet suggest that maximums will once again drop to settle around 20⁰C as rain is expected in Delhi in the next 24 to 48 hours. The minimums on the other hand will not witness much change and continue to settle around 10⁰C or above.
While the weather in Delhi is ‘not so cold’, there are places like Patna, and Gaya in Bihar, Jharsuguda in Odisha which are colder than Delhi. The minimums in these cities have been as low as 6 and 9⁰C respectively.
Photo by Ritika Acharya.
