The low temperature in Delhi this morning was 7.5 degrees Celsius, the lowest in 14 years.
New Delhi:
The national capital recorded a low of 7.5 degrees Celsius this morning, the lowest in November in 14 years, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
It is Delhi’s lowest minimum temperature in November since November 29, 2006, when the city recorded a low of 7.3 degrees Celsius, said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional forecast center.
The city was also on the brink of a cold snap, the first of this season.
For the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or less and is 4.5 degrees less than normal for two consecutive days.
The criteria have been met today. We will declare a cold snap in Delhi if the situation persists tomorrow, 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.
Mahesh Palawat, an expert with Skymet Weather, a private forecasting agency, said that cold winds blowing from the snow-laden western Himalayas have caused a drop in mercury and a similar situation will continue through Saturday.
A new western unrest approaches northwest India on November 23. The minimum temperature is likely to rise by a few degrees, he said.
The low temperature this month, except for November 16, has remained 2-3 degrees Celsius below normal in the absence of a cloud layer, according to IMD officials.
Clouds trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation and radiate it downward, heating the ground.
On Thursday, Delhi registered a low of 9.4 degrees Celsius.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
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