The temperature in the capital touched 7 degrees celsius early morning as a cold wave hit north India.
India Meteorological Department has predicted severe conditions for Delhi today as the lowest temperature dropped to 3 degrees celsius marking the season’s lowest. They said that cold day/ severe cold day conditions are very likely in some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and West Rajasthan, and cold day conditions in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand on 26th and 27th December 2022 and in Himachal in the next 24 hours.
Ranging from dense to very dense fog is very likely to continue over some parts of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, and West Rajasthan during the next 48 hours. This is due to the prevailing light winds and high moisture in lower tropospheric levels.
Several places like Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, and Karaikal, at isolated places over Rayalaseema, Kerala, Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, South Interior Karnataka and Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam recorded rainfall and thundershower.
Why are we calling it Cold Wave and not Cold Day?
When we talk about a cold day, the experts say that when the temperature during the day falls below 16 degrees celsius- that is generally considered a cold day on the plains. During a cold day, the minimum temperature of a station is 10 degrees celsius or less than that on the plains, while it is 0 degrees celsius or less than that in the hilly regions. On the maximum, a temperature from -4.5 degrees to -6.4 degrees celsius is witnessed from the normal.
In a cold wave, the minimum temperature is 4 degrees celsius or less than that. The severe cold wave is when the minimum temperature is 2 degrees celsius or less than that on the plains, while in the coastal stations the minimum temperature is -4.5 degrees celsius or less than that, or the actual minimum temperature is 15 degrees Celsius.
Schools, transport, and airlines
Yesterday IMD issued yellow and orange alerts in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir. Due to the cold wave, Patni ordered schools to remain shut for students up to the class Class 8 from December 26 to December 31. Considering the temperature dip, the school timings changed to 10 am-3 pm for 9th-12th Meanwhile.’Storm Warning Cage 3, has been mounted at Pampan port in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. Due to low visibility due to foggy weather has been affecting road and train movement at several places across the country. Rajasthan is experiencing a record-breaking dip this year with the hill station of Mount Abu experiencing snowfall. Also, Churu, the gateway to the Thar, recorded zero degree celsius.
In Haryana when compared to Sunday, there was a rise of 0.7 degrees Celsius in the average maximum temperature on Monday. However, it was notably below normal by -6.3 degrees Celsius in the state. The highest maximum temperature in the state was 17.6 degrees celsius recorded at Narnaul. The lowest minimum temperature in the state was 1.2 degrees celsius recorded at Basalmand.
The authorities of Indira Gandhi International Airport also issued an advisory and said that the low visibility procedures are in progress at the airport. All flight operations are normal and the passengers are to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information.
