With the mercury at 11.6 degrees Celsius on Monday morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said temperatures in the capital were 2-4 degrees below normal. The Met department said temperatures will continue to drop in Delhi as the city braces for a colder winter this year.
The weather agency said skies in Delhi will remain mostly clear on Monday; however, the city will witness smog and shallow fog in the morning hours.
“Maximum and minimum temperatures over Delhi are likely to be in the range of 27 to 29 °C and 10 to 12 °C, respectively,” the IMD said in its latest bulletin. “The minimum temperature will be 2 to 4 °C below normal and the maximum temperature will be 1 to 2 °C below normal,” the agency added.
According to IMD, the prevailing surface wind in Delhi will be westerly at 10 kmph gradually increasing to 20 kmph in northwesterly direction in the morning hours.
These cold northwesterly winds blowing from the Himalayas to Delhi are said to signal the onset of cold wave conditions in the national capital.
“The impact is expected to continue in the capital for at least another four to five days,” meteorologists said, adding that these winds allow heat to escape quickly after sunset, causing cooler nights in Delhi.
A cold wave is likely in northwest and central India
The Met department has also predicted a significant drop in temperatures in parts of northwest and central India, with cold wave conditions expected to prevail over eastern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand till November 11.
The coldest night of the season
Delhi experienced the coldest night of the season so far on Saturday, November 8, with the minimum temperature dropping to 11 degrees Celsius. The overnight minimum temperature reading was 3.3 degrees below the season’s normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The minimum temperature in Delhi on Thursday, November 6, fell below 15 degrees Celsius for the first time this winter.
The lowest temperature recorded in 2024 was 9.5 degrees Celsius, while it was 9.2 degrees Celsius in 2023 and 7.3 degrees Celsius in 2022, according to IMD data.
