The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert in Delhi for Sunday and Monday, following a cold wave that has engulfed the city.
According to an IMD report, Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station witnessed a temperature of 4.6 degree Celsius on Sunday morning, while the temperature at regions of Jafarpur and Lodhi Road was at 3.3 degree Celsius and 3.6 degree Celsius respectively.
RK Jenamani, the Director-General of Meteorology at IMD added that there is a possibility for drizzling on the 24th and 25th of this month, according to a Hindustan Times report.
What is a yellow alert?
On the basis of the weather conditions at a particular place, the IMD issues warnings, which are colour-coded, following a weather forecast analysis at a region over a few days.
The yellow alert indicates severely bad weather, which can also get worse, causing problems in the daily activities for the people of that region. It also calls for the people to remain vigilant of the situation.
This universal alert is issued in times of floods and heavy rainfalls as well.
Also Read | Delhi records season's lowest temperature
The weather department announces a cold day if the maximum temperature for the day falls below 4.5 degree Celsius when compared to the normal temperature of the region. It announces a cold wave if the day’s low is either 4.5 degrees below normal, or is below 4 degrees.
Why Delhi is experiencing a cold wave?
Thanks to the strong, dry, northwesterly cold winds, the national capital has been experiencing cold wave conditions for the past couple of days, the IMD said.
However, the spell will be abetted from December 21 following improvement in the weather, the weather department added.
Also Read: Biting cold sweeps Punjab, Haryana
According to the recent forecast, the day temperature in the city will be around 19 degree Celsius while the temperature at night will be around 4 degree Celsius.
Similar to Delhi, many parts of northwest India have recorded sub-zero temperatures, especially in regions of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir.
A yellow alert has been issued for Uttarakhand as well, from December 18-21, as many regions in the state, like Ranichauri, Mukteshwar, Mussoorie, Pithoragarh and New Tehri, recorded near-freezing temperatures.
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