Northwest and central India could witness minimum temperatures plunge by three to five degrees during the next five days, leading to a cold wave in parts of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat and cold-day conditions in Delhi, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said today.
Delhi is already reeling from severe cold after it received the highest rainfall in January this year since 1901. The Safdarjung Observatory measured 88.2mm rainfall this month till January 23. Between January 22 and January 23, the Safdarjung Observatory recorded 19.7mm rainfall.
The Met department has also warned of cold day-to-severe cold day conditions are likely over parts of Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat over the next two to three days. Cold wave-to-severe cold wave is also likely in isolated pockets of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, and Gujarat during the next five days.
The weather agency has also predicted dense-to-very dense fog in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya during the next two to three days.
A ‘cold day’ is measured when the minimum temperature is below 10°C and the maximum temperature is at least 4.5°C below normal. On a ‘severe cold day’, the maximum temperature is a minimum 6.5°C below normal.
The Met department declares a cold wave in the plains if the minimum temperature falls to 4°C. A cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature is 10°C or below and is 4.5 notches below normal.
A ‘severe cold wave’ is declared when the minimum temperature falls to 2°C or the departure from normal is over 6.4°C.
When visibility due to fog falls to 0 to 50 metres, the weather bureau categorises it as ‘very dense fog’, between 51 and 200 metres as ‘dense fog’, between 201 and 500 metres as ‘moderate fog’, and between 501 and 1,000 metres as ‘shallow fog’.
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