Srivastava said the La Niña climate pattern, which is currently active, is also resulting in lower temperatures across the globe.A cold wave in Delhi on Tuesday brought the night-time or minimum temperature down to 4.1 degrees Celsius, the lowest for the season so far this year, as per the IMD. At 18.5 degree Celsius, day-time temperature also dipped to the lowest mark recorded so far this season at the Safdarjung observatory, which is representative of the city, resulting in a ‘cold day’.
The IMD has forecast that cold wave and cold day conditions would continue over the next three days. Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said, “There has been significant snowfall in Western Himalayan region states and cold winds blowing from this area towards Delhi is causing temperatures to dip.”
He added, “States like Himachal Pradesh recorded snowfall over the last few days under the influence of a Western Disturbance, which also brought light showers to Delhi. After the passing of this Western Disturbance, the cloud cover cleared, resulting in higher radiation at night time, which also caused temperatures to dip.”
Srivastava said the La Niña climate pattern, which is currently active, is also resulting in lower temperatures across the globe.
Minimum temperature saw a sudden dip from Monday’s levels, when it was 8.4 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature also dipped significantly since December 10, when it was 29 degrees Celsius. Some areas of the city recorded even lower temperatures — Southwest Delhi’s Jafarpur was 3.6 and South Delhi’s Ayanagar was 4 degrees Celsius.
Srivastava said, “The next two-three days are crucial as the temperature could fall further.”