Delhi also faced four cold waves in November, on the 3rd, 20th, 23rd and 24th. (Archive)
New Delhi:
The month of November was the coldest in the national capital in 71 years, with the average minimum temperature falling to 10.2 degrees Celsius, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
Delhi had registered an average minimum temperature of 10.2 degrees Celsius in November 1949.
The average minimum temperature for November was 9.6 degrees Celsius in 1938; nine degrees Celsius in 1931 and 8.9 degrees Celsius in 1930, according to IMD data.
Normally, the average minimum temperature for the month of November is 12.9 degrees Celsius.
The average minimum temperature was 15 degrees Celsius last year, 13.4 degrees Celsius in 2018, and 12.8 degrees Celsius in 2017 and 2016.
Delhi also faced four cold waves in November, on the 3rd, 20th, 23rd and 24th.
For the plains, the IMD declares a cold snap when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or less and is 4.5 notches lower than normal for two consecutive days.
“However, for small areas like Delhi, a cold snap can be declared if the criteria are met even for one day,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional forecasting center.
On Monday, Delhi registered a low of 6.9 degrees Celsius. This is the eighth day this month that the minimum temperature remained below 10 degrees Celsius.
On November 23, Delhi registered a low of 6.3 degrees Celsius, its lowest minimum temperature in the month since November 2003, when the city recorded a low of 6.1 degrees Celsius, according to Srivastava.
The low temperature this month, except for Nov. 16, has remained 2-3 degrees Celsius below normal in the absence of cloud cover most days, according to IMD officials.
Clouds trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation and radiate it downward, heating the ground.
The month of October was the coldest in 58 years in the national capital.
The average minimum temperature in October this year was 17.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest since 1962, when it was 16.9 degrees Celsius.
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