Fresh cold wave likely from Sunday

A storm originating in the Mediterranean region is expected to reach northern India by Friday to trigger a fresh cold wave and cause temperatures in the National Capital Region to drop by up to 3 degrees Celsius, weather scientists said.

Delhi and rest of the north India are likely to witness another cold wave starting Sunday with the entry of the fresh Western Disturbance that may lead to passing showers in Delhi and snowfall in the hills.

The temperature is expected to drop by 2-3 degrees Celsius and the cold conditions might last at least till January 17, sources in the India Meteorological Department said.

People may experience biting chill as it comes after nearly a week of warm weather in the national capital region and surrounding areas.

“This will be the third Western Disturbance (basically a Mediterranean storm) in succession. The minimum temperature will drop after Sunday,” said a weather scientist.

It would affect the western Himalayan region from the night of January 10 and adjoining plains from January 11 onward.

The rains it would bring are insufficient to trigger widespread fog disrupting air and railway traffic. This year Delhi was free from such heavy fog, which wreaks havoc in the travel sector every year.

Barring a single day (January 3) last week, there were nearly 60 daily flights from Bengaluru to Delhi that operated more or less smoothly in the winter so far. On January 3, the fog was so dense that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi was delayed in arriving for the inaugural session of Indian Science Congress at Ludhiana.

There was hardly any rain this winter, reducing the moisture content to a large extent. The previous two Western Disturbances caused a lot of snowfall in the hills but little rain in the plains.

Trains delayed

Unlike the past years, the fog envelop caused by local factors like moisture in agricultural fields was not dense enough to cause widespread traffic disruption. The fog recedes after about an hour when the sun comes up.

Nine trains were delayed due to fog in Delhi, which recorded a minimum temperature of 8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday morning. Moderate fog enveloped the city, lowering visibility to 200 mt at Palam and 400 mt at Safdarjung at 5:30 am, an official said.

Cold weather conditions prevailed in most parts of Punjab and Haryana on Wednesday, with Adampur being the coldest place at 1.8 degrees Celsius.