Delhi to welcome New Year in chilly weather, cold wave predicted till January 3

Delhi residents woke up to chilly conditions this morning, with the temperature dropping to 3.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday. Now, the weather department has predicted that the national capital will welcome the New Year amidst a cold wave till January 3, 2022.

The minimum temperature at the Safdarjung Observatory considered the official marker for the national capital, dropped sharply to 3.4 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal. On Wednesday it was 8.4 degrees Celsius, according to PTI reports.

 A minimum temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius and 3.2 degrees Celsius was also recorded at the automatic weather stations at Delhi's Ayanagar and Narela, respectively, on Thursday morning. It has been predicted that Delhi will ring in the New Year under similar weather conditions.

In the plains, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius. A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and is 4.5 notches less than normal.

A cold wave was also experienced in Delhi last week, on December 20 and 21, when the minimum temperature settled at 3.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest this season so far, and 4 degrees Celsius. Paired with the poor air quality, the atmosphere became a double-hazard for Delhi residents.

Thereafter, two back-to-back western disturbances and the resultant slowing down of cold northwesterly winds and cloudy conditions gradually pushed the minimum temperature up to 9.8 degrees Celsius, as reported by news agency PTI.

Predicting a relief from the cold wave, the weather department has said that the minimum temperature will start increasing from January 4 under the influence of an active western disturbance. This disturbance is likely to cause snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh from January 4 to 7.

This might also bring "light to moderate scattered to fairly widespread" rainfall over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh Delhi, north Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradesh between January 5 to January 7, according to the IMD weather forecast.

(With PTI inputs)