Gurugram gets the chill at 1.4°C, close to all-time December record

GURUGRAM/NEW DELHI: Gurugram continued to be in the grip of cold wave conditions with the minimum temperature dipping further to the season’s lowest so far at 1.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday, even lower than Friday’s 2.4.

Delhi, on the other hand, matched its own season low of 4 degrees Celsius.

According to Met officials, December 26, 1945 — with the lowest minimum temperature of 1.1 degrees Celsius — was the coldest December day in the entire region so far. Weathermen said the mercury came down significantly across the region because of the northwestern winds flowing in from Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, with clear skies further favouring the chilly conditions.

Officials at the Met department, however, said there could be a slight improvement in terms of temperature Sunday onwards as winds change their course.

“We are currently receiving the northwesterly winds in NCR that blow cold from regions like Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, where it had snowed recently. The advent of chillier winds, coupled with lack of cloud cover, sent the mercury plummeting and led to such low temperatures,” said an official at the Regional Weather Forecasting Station (RWFC) said.

“Both wind movement and clear skies contributed to the drastic fall in the mercury level,” explained another official.

On Saturday, Gurugram recorded the maximum temperature at 21 degrees Celsius, while Delhi reported the average maximum temperature at 21.8.

Chilly conditions also led to a drop in the visibility levels in Gurugram. Officials said that shallow to moderate fog was due to the presence of high level of moisture in the air.

“Low temperatures and high humid levels result in fog. We are expecting fog density to increase on Sunday and Monday, especially during the morning,” a Met official said.

Forecasts by the Met department show Delhi is likely to record a minimum of around 5-6 degrees in the next few days while the fog intensity may increase. In Gurugram, the mercury is likely to increase to 3 degrees but the chill factor will stay.

“Moderate to dense fog is expected on Sunday with the maximum and minimum temperature hovering between 22 and 3 degrees Celsius. The minimum and maximum will stay in this range for the next few days,” said a Met official.