Winter has hit many parts of northwestern India, both in the hills and in the northern plains, with the minimum temperature being below 5 degrees Celsius below normal in several cities, according to scientists.
On Friday, Gulmarg (Jammu and Kashmir) recorded a minimum temperature of -7 ° C, 5.5 degrees below normal. In Palampur (Himachal Pradesh), the minimum temperature was 3 ° C, 6.4 degrees below normal.
On the plains, cities such as Hisar (Haryana), Churu (Rajasthan) and Adampur (Punjab) also recorded minimum temperatures of 4-5 degrees below normal. The Regional Meteorological Center warned that Delhi, Haryana and northern Rajasthan could experience cold wave conditions for the next two days.
A cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature is below 10 ° C and the deviation from normal is 4.5 ° C for more than one day.
The onset of winter, which typically takes place in mid-December, appears to be occurring earlier due to the influence of consecutive western unrest, according to the scientists, who also said that La Niña, a global weather pattern prevailing this year, is also linked. with temperatures substantially below normal in northwestern India in winters. According to them, a colder than normal winter is expected this year.
“The winter months are January and February, but it usually feels cold in December when the maximum and minimum temperatures are below 22 ° C and 10 ° C respectively,” said Kuldeep Shrivastava, director of the regional weather forecast center. .
Moderate La Niña conditions prevail over the equatorial Pacific and sea surface temperatures are below normal over the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, according to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) bulletin from the Indian Meteorological Department. (IMD) from Pune.
“After the western disturbance, which brought widespread snowfall to the entire western Himalayan region last Sunday, snowfall has continued in parts of the Himalayas. Once again, a western disturbance will hit the region on November 22; it will bring widespread snowfall. So there is a substantial drop in temperature in the hills. On the plains, cold winds blow from the northwest and there are clear skies. So the heat radiates at night, which makes the mornings really cold. We are seeing the minimum temperatures drop significantly earlier this year, ”Shrivastava said.
He added that due to consecutive western unrest, the meteorological department expects snowfall to continue in the hills. This means that minimum temperatures will gradually drop further after the next western disturbance passes, he added.
Also read: Finest and deadliest PM1 shoots up in Delhi due to burning of crops, cookies
According to IMD’s weekly weather report, Northwest India saw 220% excess rainfall in the week ending November 18 due to the influence of a western disturbance. During the next two weeks, the minimum temperature is likely 2 ° -5 ° C below normal. A cold snap is likely to prevail in isolated areas of northwestern India between 20 and 26 November.
El Niño and ENSO are a periodic fluctuation in sea surface temperature and air pressure from the overlying atmosphere across the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
.
