Cold day conditions have tightened its grip over North India as day temperatures plunged 8°C to 13°C below the normal average. The Western Disturbance, which brought snowfall in the hilly states and the first winter rain of the season in Delhi, has moved away. Icy cold northwesterly winds blowing across North India dragged temperatures down by several notches.
Similar conditions are likely to continue at least for next 48 hours. Only very strong winds or rain could disperse the envelope of clouds in North India. In most places the weather remained grey and damp on Friday as well.
Day temperature in Amritsar was 13 degrees below normal at 8.4°C. Day temperatures in Patiala, Chandigarh and Ludhiana settled 8 degrees below the normal average. Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Pathankot were extremely cold with maximums settling around 10°C. Here's a look at the maximum temperatures in parts of Punjab and Haryana.
Fog has also tightened its grip over parts of North India as visibility reduced to nil in several places on Thursday morning.
As have been explained earlier by Skymet, temperature keeps falling in the wake of Western Disturbances, due to penetration of cold and dry northwesterly winds. Consequently, fog starts becoming thicker and if one Western Disturbance is not followed by another one in quick succession, the cold and dry condition continues unabated. With temperatures well below normal, cold wave conditions engulf entire North India. This results in a vicious cycle, wherein temperatures do not rise because of thick fog. Similarly, as temperatures don’t rise, fog does not dissipate. This cycle is broken when strong winds or precipitation occurs.
Another Western Disturbance is likely to affect North India during the weekend. However, rain and snowfall will be confined to the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir. The plains will not receive any precipitation but high clouds and fog could hamper visibility in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.
