Delhi Weather: Mercury fell to 6.4 degrees Celsius at the Lodhi Road weather station. (Archive)
New Delhi:
A cold snap washed over Delhi on Monday as the minimum temperature fell to 6.3 degrees Celsius, five levels below normal and the lowest in November since 2003, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
On Sunday, the national capital had registered a minimum of 6.9 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 24.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest daytime temperature so far this month.
“The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a low of 6.3 degrees Celsius, which is Delh’s lowest minimum temperature in the month since November 2003, when the city recorded a low of 6.1 degrees Celsius, “said Kuldeep Srivastava, director of IMD’s regional forecast center, said.
The mercury dropped to 6.4 degrees Celsius at the Lodhi Road weather station, he said.
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,” Srivastava said.
Delhi recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 11.5 degrees Celsius last year, 10.5 degrees Celsius in 2018 and 7.6 degrees Celsius in 2017 in the month of November.
The all-time record for the lowest minimum temperature in November is 3.9 degrees Celsius recorded on November 28, 1938.
Srivastava said icy winds blowing from the snow-laden western Himalayas have caused a drop in mercury.
However, the minimum temperature will increase by two to three degrees Celsius in the next four to five days under the influence of a new western disturbance. This month’s low temperature, except for November 16, has remained 2-3 degrees Celsius below normal in the absence of cloud cover, 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.
.
