Residents of Delhi woke up to thick fog, low visibility and intense cold on Saturday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for cold wave and dense fog. Cold wave conditions persisted for the sixth consecutive day on January 16 as the mercury dropped significantly in the city as the minimum temperature dropped to 4.3 degrees Celsius.
On Friday, Safdarjung and Ayanagar area recorded the lowest minimum temperature, followed by Palam and Lodhi Road, which recorded 4.7 degrees Celsius each.
Forecasting an increase in minimum temperatures by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius over the next 5 days, the IMD in its weather forecast said: “Partly cloudy skies. Light fog at many places with dense fog at isolated places during morning hours. Maximum and minimum temperatures in Delhi are likely to be in the range of 21°C to 23°C and 086°C respectively.”
On January 17, the minimum temperature is expected to be close to normal, while the maximum temperatures are expected to be above normal by about 1.6 to 3.0 degrees Celsius. At the same time, Delhi’s neighboring states, including Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, are on IMD orange alert due to dense fog, cold day and cold waves.
The IMD in its latest press release said, “Cold day conditions likely in isolated pockets of Uttarakhand, West Uttar Pradesh on January 16 and 17; Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh on January 16; East Uttar Pradesh on January 17 and 18.”
Another fresh Western Disturbance is likely to affect northwest India from January 19, when Delhi is expected to exceed normal minimum temperatures by around 1.6 to 3 degrees Celsius on January 19 and 20, the IMD said.
A thick fog envelops the capital
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) reported low visibility at 6:30 am, dropping to 350 metres. Several flights were delayed due to operating in CAT III conditions
The Delhi Airport issued a travel advisory at 6:00 AM which said, “Low visibility procedures are still underway at Delhi Airport.
