The average minimum temperature, which is recorded early in the morning, in January was 6.6 degrees Celsius. (Express photo: Amit Mehra)January mornings this year were the coldest since 2013, data from the India Meteorological Department has shown. The average minimum temperature — which is recorded early in the morning — in January was 6.6 degrees Celsius. It was 7 degrees Celsius in January 2018, and 8.7 degrees Celsius in January 2017.
According to officials, low cloud cover, strong winds and less than normal fog have contributed to chilly mornings this year. As per data, the average maximum temperature was the lowest since 2015 — 19.3 degrees Celsius.
The whole of Northwest India has seen a considerable temperature drop this year as compared to the last few years, which has been coupled with more snow in the higher reaches.
“Cold winds blowing from the northwest direction, which are predominant in the region in winters, have played a part in bringing down the temperature in the city. Overall too, Northwestern India has been colder this year,” said an IMD official, who did not wish to be named.
Average temperatures in December 2018 were also considerably below normal, with data showing that it was the coldest December month in 13 years. The city also received 121% more rainfall in January this year at 34.9 mm. Usually, 15.8 mm of rain is seen during the month.
It was not just the temperature, however, that deviated from normal; the number of dense fog days and hours were also considerably lower.
“While January usually sees 33 hours of dense fog spread over eight days, this time only 24 hours of fog spread over five days was witnessed. This is the lowest since 2007-08 winter season. The main reasons for the same are strong winds and frequent western disturbances, which disrupted the normal course and prevented fog formation,” said
R K Jenamani, in-charge of the IGI Airport observatory.
