Second coldest March day in last 27 years

The day temperature plunged by five degrees Celsius on Saturday, making it the second coldest March day in 27 years.

On Friday, the national capital had witnessed its coldest March night in four decades with the temperature plummeting to 6.8 degrees Celsius.

The day temperature recorded on Friday was 24.1 degrees Celsius. On Saturday, it plunged to 19.3 degrees Celsius, which is eight degrees below what is normal for this time of the year. The India Meteorological Department has forecast that the weather conditions are likely to remain the same on Sunday, with chances of the skies clearing up from Monday.

“Since 1992, the lowest day temperature recorded in March was 19 degrees Celsius. It was recorded on March 2, 2015. Saturday was the coldest day in four years and second coldest since 1992 (the year till which data is available),” said a senior official of the IMD.

Even though the day temperature has plunged, the night temperature, which had dropped to a 40-year-low on Friday shot up from 6.8 degrees Celsius to 13 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

“Rain, an overcast sky and strong winds, triggered by a western disturbance helped the day temperature to dip,” said a senior official.

The IMD’s observatory at Safdarjung, which is taken to be a representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded around 2.6 mm rain between Friday morning and Saturday evening (till 5:30 pm).

On a clear day, the day temperature shoots up because of the sun. At night, the heat is radiated and the temperature drops. On a cloudy day however, the day temperature drops because of the absence of the sun’s rays. The heat does not get radiated at night because of the clouds and the nights get warmer.

“Conditions are likely to remain the same on Sunday – a cloudy sky, rain and strong winds. The sky is expected to clear up from Monday,” said the official.

Even though IMD has forecast that there could be another dip in the mercury levels once the western disturbance passes, officials said that the dip won’t be drastic and the night temperature is expected to remain around 10 degrees Celsius.

Earlier in 2018, Delhi had witnessed the third coldest December in 50 years. IMD data showed that the average monthly minimum temperature in December 2018 was 6.7°C.

In 2005, the average minimum temperature was 6.0°C, and 1996, the average minimum temperature was 5.9°C.

The IMD had forecast a warmer winter this time due to the influence of El Nino over the Pacific Ocean.

First Published: Mar 03, 2019 01:01 IST