Break in cold wave in Northwest India

New Delhi: After enduring the bone-chilling nights for the past one week, residents of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, will finally have a minor respite from the excruciating cold this week.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said an active western disturbance is expected to trigger a 2-4°C rise in the minimum temperatures over the plains during the next two days. It said the cold day conditions will also abate from Thursday onwards in the region.

This rise in mercury would be a welcome change for people, especially considering parts of northwest Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana remained under the grip of cold wave and cold day conditions until Tuesday.

Cold waves and fog continue to grip Delhi, delaying 10 flights from Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) due to dense fog in the morning, while 26 trains were running late. Some flights (Delhi-Shimla, Delhi-Kathmandu, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Jaisalmer, Delhi-Bareilly, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Varanasi, Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Guwahati) were delayed due to fog and cold in the national capital, though visibility at the airport increased to 100 metres at 6:10 am on Wednesday as against 50 metres on Tuesday.

The IMD official said no cold wave conditions will bother North India in the next four days. On Wednesday, Safdarjung airport reported a minimum temperature of 5.9 degree Celsius.

But there could be another spell of the cold wave from January 14, as per IMD scientists. Senior India Meteorological Department (IMD) official RK Jenamani said the second cold spell would see light rain and drizzle in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Western UP, and North Rajasthan.

Published on: Thursday, January 12, 2023, 02:05 AM IST